Naoki Yuasa
Naoki Yuasa (汤 浅 直树Japanese, Naoki Yuasa, born April 24, 1983 in Sapporo ) is a Japanese ski racer. His specialist discipline is the slalom.
Biography
Yuasa denied his first FIS race in November 1998. Four months later, he first participated in the Far East Cup. From the season 2002/ 03 he was one of the best slalom skiers of his country and secured twice the Slalom Ranking in the Far East Cup. Since March 2001, he also took part regularly in European Cup races, but had to fight with many failures and was able to achieve consistent and good only in the 2007/ 08 season.
After the beginning of 2003, he celebrated his first victory in the Far East Cup and on March 3, won his first Japanese championship, Yuasa, on 8 March Shigakogen first time in a World Cup slalom at the start. Especially in the early years he had to fight but with many failures and could only very rarely qualify for the second round. The first World Cup points he brought on 13 December 2004 with number 21 in the slalom in Sestriere. In his first World Cup participation in Bormio in 2005 he reached the 18th place in the slalom as the best Japanese.
For the second time in the World Cup scored Yuasa December 22, 2005 in Kranjska Gora. There he took the surprising seventh place. He was also at the Olympic Winter Games 2006 in Turin start and reached no fewer surprisingly also the seventh place in the slalom. In March 2006, he was the second time Japanese champion. At the 2007 World Championships, he finished as two years earlier, the 18th slalom ranking. In the World Cup he achieved in the 2006/07 season but only once a 29th place in the following season he was at least four times in the points and could be placed end of the season twice in the top 15. In the 2008 /09 season he won twice World Cup points, his best result was the 14th place in the night slalom in Schladming. In his third world championship is in Val d'Isere in 2009, he finished 29th place in the giant slalom, slalom, he fell in the first run from.
In the 2009/10 season Yuasa reached number eight in the night slalom in Schladming his second top- 10 finish in the World Cup. He also celebrated two victories in the European Cup. In the following season 2010/11 he reached on the Planai in Schladming tenth his best World Cup result of winter. After he had not participated in the 2010 Olympic Games, he finished sixth at the 2011 World Championships in slalom. In the season 2011/12 Yuasa scored his previously best World Cup results with the two fifth places in the slalom in Schladming and Bansko.
On December 18, 2012 Yuasa reached the third place in the night slalom of the 3 - Tre race in Madonna di Campiglio his first podium in the World Cup. It was after the first passage only in 26th place, but could be with the second fastest time in the second run despite strong back pain due to a herniated disc still improve on the third overall place. Like he succeeded on January 6, 2014 Slalom Bormio, as he improved in the second round of 21 on the 4th Place.
Achievements
Olympic Winter Games
- Turin 2006: 7 Slalom
World Championships
- Bormio 2005: 18 Slalom
- Åre 2007: 18 Slalom
- Val d'Isere 2009: 29 Giant Slalom
- Garmisch -Partenkirchen 2011: 6 Slalom
Junior World Championships
- Tarvisio 2002: 25 combination, 27 Slalom, Super-G, 50th, 56th departure
World Cup
- 9 placings in the top ten, including one podium
Far East Cup
Discipline rating:
- Season 2002/ 03: 3rd overall, 1st slalom
- Season 2003/ 04: 2nd Slalom
- Season 2004/ 05: 4th overall, 1st slalom
- 10 podiums, including 8 wins
European Cup
- Season 2007/ 08: 5 slalom rating
- Season 2009/ 10: 5 slalom rating
- 8 podiums including 3 victories:
Other successes
- Two-time Japanese champion in slalom (2003 and 2006)
- 1 podium in Nor- Am Cup
- 6 wins in FIS slaloms