is a former Olympic

alpine ski racer Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel bindings, unlike other types of skiing (cross-country, Telemark, or ski jumping), which use skis with free-heel bindings. Whether for ...

and silver medalist from Japan. He competed in three

Winter Olympics The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were h ...

( 1952, 1956, 1960).

Ski racing

Born in Tomari, Kunashiri ( ja), Hokkaidō, Igaya attended college in the

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, where he raced for the Big Green and graduated in 1957. "Chick" won the U.S. national title in slalom in 1954 at

Aspen Aspen is a common name for certain tree species; some, but not all, are classified by botanists in the section ''Populus'', of the ''Populus'' genus. Species These species are called aspens: *'' Populus adenopoda'' – Chinese aspen (Chin ...

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, and took a third consecutive NCAA title in slalom, his sixth individual, in

1957 1957 (Roman numerals, MCMLVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday, common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, t ...

at Snowbasin,

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. At the Olympics in 1952, Igaya finished eleventh in the slalom, 20th in the giant slalom, and 24th in the downhill. Four years later in 1956, he won the silver medal in the slalom, was eleventh in the giant slalom, but did not finish in the downhill. All three events were won by

Toni Sailer Anton Engelbert "Toni" Sailer (17 November 1935 – 24 August 2009) was an Austrian alpine ski racer, considered among the best in the sport. At age 20, he won all three gold medals in alpine skiing at the 1956 Winter Olympics. He nearly duplica ...

of Austria. At the 1960 Games, Igaya was twelfth in the slalom, 23rd in the giant slalom, and 34th in the downhill. Igaya also won a bronze medal in slalom at the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

in 1958, and finished fourth in the

combined Combined may refer to: * Alpine combined (skiing), the combination of slalom and downhill skiing as a single event ** Super combined (skiing) * Nordic combined (skiing), the combination of cross country skiing and ski jumping as a single event * T ...

After racing

After graduation, Igaya worked in insurance, eventually becoming president of the Japanese branch of AIU Insurance Company. In parallel, he served as a sports administrator. Igaya was a member of the FIS alpine skiing committee and vice-president of the

International Triathlon Union World Triathlon, previously known as the International Triathlon Union (ITU), is the international governing body for the multi-sport disciplines of triathlon, duathlon, aquathlon and other nonstandard variations. World Triathlon hosts the to ...

. He was a member of the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swis ...

from 1982 to 2012, becoming vice-president in 2005, and an honorary member in 2012. At the Winter Olympics in

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

, Igaya was inducted into the Olympians for Life project for giving back to sport.

World Championship results

From

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect. ** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...

through 1980, the

were also the

for alpine skiing.
At the World Championships from 1954 through 1980, the combined was a "paper race" using the results of the three events (DH, GS, SL).

Olympic results

NCAA titles

:* Slalom (3): 1955, 1956,

:* Alpine (2): 1955, 1956 :* Downhill:1955

References

External links

* *
Ivy League at 50
– Chiharu Igaya

– Chiharu Igaya
U.S. Ski & Snowboard Hall of Fame
– Chiharu Igaya {{DEFAULTSORT:Igaya, Chiharu 1931 births Living people Japanese male alpine skiers Olympic alpine skiers of Japan Alpine skiers at the 1952 Winter Olympics Alpine skiers at the 1956 Winter Olympics Alpine skiers at the 1960 Winter Olympics Olympic silver medalists for Japan People from Hokkaido People from Sakhalin Oblast Olympic medalists in alpine skiing International Olympic Committee members Medalists at the 1956 Winter Olympics Dartmouth Big Green skiers 20th-century Japanese people 21st-century Japanese people