Iwao Ageishi, from the Niigata prefecture, attended the Takada Normal School (today Joetsu University of Education) and won the 40 km cross country skiing at the 1929 All Japan Ski Championships. He repeated his success two years later, this time over a distance of 50 km and earned a place on the Japanese team at the 1932 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid. There, Ageishi placed an acceptable 17th despite damaging his ski pole. After retiring from active competition, he went to the island of Sakhalin (Kabata during the Japanese time). After World War II, Ageishi worked for the Faculty of Education of “Niigata University Takada Branch”. In sports, he served as director and councillor of the Ski Association of Japan and as chairman of the Niigata Prefecture Ski Association. Since 1987, a cross-country skiing race is held in his honor in Tomakachi.
Japan