(Adnkronos) – Japanese-made skis dominated the freestyle Moguls competitions at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics in February. All 12 medalists in the men’s and women’s mogul and dual mogul competitions – Jiji Press writes – used “ID one” skis, produced by Material Sports Inc., a five-employee company based in Moriguchi, Osaka Prefecture, in western Japan. Loved by elite athletes worldwide, the high-performance skis are meticulously crafted by skilled artisans, highlighting the strength of Japanese manufacturing on the global stage.
Uemura Makoto Fujimoto, the 67-year-old president of Material Sports, started his ski goggle sales business in 1991 and gradually built a vast network in the ski world. Among those with whom he forged close relationships was Japanese skier Aiko Uemura, who ranked among the top eight in women’s moguls in five consecutive Winter Olympics, starting with the 1998 Nagano Games. During a dinner in 1999, their conversation turned to skis. When Uemura told him that the skis she was using at the time were not suitable for her, Fujimoto offered to personally make a pair. Around the same time, Finland’s Janne Lahtela, who won the silver medal in men’s moguls at the Nagano Olympics, contacted Fujimoto in search of high-quality skis.
Thanks to these encounters, with the support of a highly skilled factory in Japan, Fujimoto developed the ID one in 2000, placing great importance on creating skis that were both flexible and durable. For the core material, he chose domestically produced wood instead of polyurethane, which was the industry standard at the time. By combining hard and soft wood, he managed to achieve the right balance of strength and responsiveness. He also introduced small notches along the metal edges of the skis, allowing them to bend more easily. After repeated testing and refinements, he produced the first pair of ID one skis. Looking back, Fujimoto recalled being driven by the “determination to help the two skiers win at all costs.”
His resolve paid off at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics, where Lahtela won gold with a pair of ID one skis. The victory significantly raised the profile of this made-in-Japan brand and led to contracts with top-level athletes. At the 2022 Beijing Olympics, every medalist in both the men’s and women’s mogul events competed with ID one skis. Japanese skier Ikuma Horishima, 28, a loyal user of the brand since childhood, then won bronze in moguls and silver in dual moguls at the Milan-Cortina Games.
A former member of the technical ski club at Osaka University of Health and Sport Sciences, Fujimoto had no background in either moguls or ski manufacturing. Even so, he became a bridge between athletes and the factory, relying on an affable personality that naturally attracts people. Fujimoto stated that when he receives requests for new product development, he places great importance on “drawing out the true feelings (of the athletes).”
When he started working on ski development, he boldly told the factory staff that he would become the “number 1 in the world.” At the time, they didn’t take him seriously. Since then, however, his company has become one of the world’s leading manufacturers of mogul skis. Working quietly behind the scenes, Fujimoto continues to support skiers in their pursuit of success. “It truly makes me happy when athletes using ID one win on the world stage,” he said.
