Ayane Miyazaki: “My ultimate goal is the overall victory!”

Leading up to the Continental Cup finals in Nizhny Tagil (RUS) on the upcoming weekend, a small interview series with all three, yes, three Continental Cup leaders will be published. First up is one of the two contestants for the first-ever Ladies’ Nordic Combined Continental Cup overall victory, Japan’s Ayane Miyazaki.

With one victory and one second place in the Continental Cup in Rena (NOR), the 15 year-old from Nagano prefecture shares the lead with Russia’s Stefaniya Nadymova and has her eyes set on the goal: to become the inaugural Ladies’ Continental Cup champion.

Why did you choose Nordic Combined as your sport?

Miyazaki: I actually began with ski jumping at my home town of Nozawa-onsen in the Nagano prefecture when I was 10 years old. That was what started my sports career for me. After a while I began training cross-country skiing as well.

Where do you currently train and prepare for the competitions in Nagano? Do you train on the Olympic hills?

Miyazaki: Yes, I am training at the Olympic ski jumps in Hakuba. A cooling system was introduced a little while ago and and training became a lot easier after that.

Which part of the Nordic Combined is your stronger suit: ski jumping or cross-country skiing?

Miyazaki: I’d have to say ski jumping, it has stayed my stronger discipline.

Are you familiar with the female ski jumping stars from Japan, Sara Takanashi, Yuki Ito or perhaps even training together with them sometimes?

Miyazaki: Of course I know them and we say hello when we see each other but we are not close friends. We also do not do training together.

How do you rate your results at the first stage of the Continental Cup in Rena (Norway)?

Miyazaki: I am very pleased with how that weekend went. I think that the ski jumping and cross country parts were both quite good, each on their own terms.

With what kind of goals do you travel to the COC finals in Nizhny Tagil?

Miyazaki: Well, of course I would like to win both competitions. My ultimate goal is to take the overall victory. It’s the first one ever for ladies in Nordic Combined, so it is a very important weekend for us. I’ll try to do my best. My shape is not at its absolute best at the moment but I will use the last days before the weekend to fine-tune it.

What are your goals for your sporting career? Are you dreaming of gold at the Olympic Winter Games?

Miyazaki: (laughs) Once it has been decided that Ladies’ Nordic Combined will become an official Olympic event, I will aim for a gold medal. Not before that.

Andrey Kascha