Hank Kashiwa

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Hank Kashiwa
Hank Kashiwa 1970.jpg
Kashiwa in 1970
Personal information
Born (1949-05-26) May 26, 1949 (age 76)
Occupation Alpine skier
Height5 ft 6.5 in (1.69 m) [1]
Sport
Skiing career
Disciplines Downhill, giant slalom, slalom
Olympics
Teams1 – (1972)
Medals0
World Championships
Teams2 – (1970, 1972)
Medals0
World Cup
Seasons5 – (19681972)
Podiums0 – (6 top tens)
Overall titles0 – (34th in 1971)
Discipline titles0 – (19th in GS, 1970)

Hank Charles Kashiwa (born May 26, 1949) is an American former World Cup alpine ski racer who competed in the 1972 Winter Olympics. [2]

Contents

Kashiwa learned to ski on McCauley Mountain in his hometown of Old Forge, New York. [3] He raced for the University of Colorado and was then a member of the U.S. Army ski team for two years. From 1967 to 1972, he was on the U.S. Ski Team, and won a national title in 1969. He was an alternate on the U.S. team at the 1968 Winter Olympics at Grenoble, France. Kashiwa skied the World Cup circuit from 1968 to 1971, where he posted six top ten finishes. [1]

After racing for the U.S. Olympic team in 1972 at Sapporo in downhill and giant slalom, Kashiwa joined the pro circuit, [4] [5] and starred from 1972 to 1981, winning the World Pro Title in 1975. [1]

After retiring from competitions Kashiwa had a long career as a ski commentator on TV. He also became the President of Volant skis, a Colorado ski manufacturer. After that he served as vice-president of marketing for the Yellowstone Club, near Big Sky, Montana. [1]

World Cup results

Season standings

Season Age  Overall  Slalom Giant
 Slalom 
Super GDownhillCombined
1968 18not
run
not
awarded
1969 194825
1970 20363119
1971 21342123
1972 22
Points were only awarded for top ten finishes (see scoring system).

Top ten finishes

SeasonDateLocationDisciplinePlace
1969 22 Mar 1969 Flag of the United States.svg Waterville Valley,USA Slalom 8th
1970 22 Feb 1970 Flag of the United States.svg Jackson Hole, USASlalom8th
8 Mar 1970 Flag of the United States.svg Heavenly Valley, USA Giant slalom 5th
1971 16 Jan 1971  Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg   St. Moritz, Switzerland Downhill 9th
17 Jan 1971Slalom7th
30 Jan 1971 Flag of France.svg Megève, France Slalom9th

World championship results

  Year   Age  Slalom Giant
 Slalom 
Super-GDownhillCombined
1970 2030not run
1972 22 21 25

From 1948 through 1980, the Winter Olympics were also the World Championships for alpine skiing.

Olympic results

  Year   Age  Slalom Giant
 Slalom 
Super-GDownhillCombined
1972 22 21 not run 25 not run

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Hank Kashiwa at Olympics at Sports-Reference.com (archived)
  2. Blagden, Nellie (January 26, 1976). "On the slopes and in the kitchen, speed skier Hank Kashiwa is a champ". People. Retrieved March 15, 2020.
  3. Johnson, Phil (February 1994). The Kingdom of Ahs. Skiing.
  4. Kadleck, Dave (March 6, 1972). "'Rookie' Kashiwa tops pro skiers". Deseret News. Salt Lake City, Utah. p. B6.
  5. "Pro skiing felt tougher". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Washington. Associated Press. March 6, 1972. p. 18.