'Only gold will do!' Local town already orders 'gold medal' banner for men's moguls skier Ikuma Horishima (28)? Ikeda Town, Gifu [Milan-Cortina Olympics]

The intense Olympic battles continue. Ikuma Horishima, a skier from Ikeda Town, Gifu Prefecture, is receiving passionate support from his hometown!

Yesterday evening, Japan time, the women’s freestyle skiing moguls qualification took place. Rino Yanagimoto (25), from Tsushima City, Aichi Prefecture, did not make the top 10 in the first qualification round the day before.

With her back against the wall, she delivered calm turns and solid air tricks, securing her spot in the finals. The final, held about three hours later… She lost her balance on the landing of her first air trick but recovered afterwards, scoring 72.49 points and finishing in 13th place.

“I can’t say it was a perfect run, but I was able to do what I wanted to do most.”

Yanagimoto will aim for revenge in the dual moguls event on the morning of the 14th, local time, where skiers compete one-on-one on turns, execution, and speed.

Milan-Cortina Olympics

The Milan-Cortina Olympics refer to the upcoming 2026 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, which will be hosted jointly by the Italian cities of Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo. This marks Italy’s third time hosting the Winter Olympics, following Cortina’s 1956 Games and Turin’s 2006 Games, and is designed to utilize existing venues across the northern Italian regions of Lombardy and Veneto.

Ikeda Town

Ikeda Town is a municipality in Osaka Prefecture, Japan, historically known as a post-station town on the ancient “Sanyōdō” highway during the Edo period. Today, it is most famous as the birthplace of instant noodles, home to the Momofuku Ando Instant Ramen Museum where visitors can learn about this 20th-century culinary innovation.

Gifu Prefecture

Gifu Prefecture, located in central Japan, is a region rich in history and natural beauty, historically part of the ancient Mino Province. It is famous for the historic village of Shirakawa-gō, a UNESCO World Heritage site with traditional gassho-zukuri farmhouses, and the city of Gifu, which was a key base for the powerful warlord Oda Nobunaga in the 16th century during the Sengoku period. Today, the prefecture is also renowned for its traditional cormorant fishing (ukai) on the Nagara River and its role as a hub for high-quality craftsmanship, including Mino ware pottery and Seki cutlery.

Tsushima City

Tsushima City is a municipality located on Tsushima Island in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan, situated in the Korea Strait between Japan and the Korean Peninsula. Historically, it has served as a crucial cultural and trade conduit between Japan and mainland Asia for centuries. The island is also famously known as the site of attempted Mongol invasions in the 13th century, which were repelled with the aid of a “divine wind” (kamikaze).

Aichi Prefecture

Aichi Prefecture, located in central Japan, is historically significant as the heart of the powerful Owari Domain and the birthplace of the Three Unifiers of Japan (Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu) during the Sengoku period. Today, it is a major industrial and economic hub, most famously home to the Toyota Motor Corporation and the cultural treasures of Nagoya, including Nagoya Castle.