Masahiko Harada

Masahiko Harada
Personal information
Full name	Masahiko Harada
Born	9 May 1968 (1968-05-09) Kamikawa, Hokkaido
Height	1,73 m
World Cup
Seasons	1987-88, 1990-2003
Wins	9
Additional podiums	12
Total podiums	21
Medal record Men's ski jumping Competitor for Japan Olympic Games Gold 1998 Nagano Team large hill Silver 1994 Lillehammer T. large hill Bronze 1998 Nagano Individual large hill World Championships Gold 1993 Falun Ind. normal hill Gold 1997 Trondheim Individual large hill Silver 1997 Trondheim Ind. normal hill Silver 1997 Trondheim Team large hill Silver 1999 Ramsau Team large hill Bronze 1999 Ramsau Ind. normal hill
Updated on October 7, 2011.

This article is about the ski jumper. For the boxer, see Fighting Harada.

Masahiko "Happy" Harada (原田 雅彦, Harada Masahiko, born May 9, 1968 in Kamikawa, Hokkaido) is a Japanese ski jumper. He is best remembered for a meltdown at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer and his subsequent redemption at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano.

At the 1994 games, the Japanese team had a nearly insurmountable lead heading into the last jump of the large hill. Harada, the team's anchor, had jumped 122 meters in his previous attempt and needed only 105 meters in his final jump to clinch gold for Japan. His jump was just shy of 98 meters and dropped Japan to second, with the gold going to the German team.

Four years later Harada would again have his chance to deliver his team a gold, this time in his home country. His first jump of 79.5 meters knocked his team from first to fourth and brought back memories of Lillehammer. Then, on his second attempt he delivered an Olympic-record tying 137 meter jump. His teammate Kazuyoshi Funaki would then close out the event with a 125 meter jump, clinching the first Olympic ski jumping gold medal for Japan since the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo.

Along with the team gold, Harada also captured bronze in Nagano in the individual large hill after a 136 meter final jump that pushed up him from sixth to third.

Harada has competed in five Olympics. In addition to the Lillehammer and Nagano games, he competed in Albertville in 1992, Salt Lake City in 2002 and Turin in 2006.

He is a two-time FIS Nordic World Ski Championships winner (1993: individual normal hill, 1997: individual large hill), and also won three silvers (1997: Individual normal hill, 1997, 1999: Team large hill) and one bronze (1999: Individual normal hill) as well.

Olympic normal hill individual competition in Pragelato on 11 February 2006 was the last hihgly ranked official event participated by Masahiko Harada - who won 2 Olympic medals in Nagano and 1 in Lillehammer - and it was after over 3 years break from participating in Ski jumping World Cup. Unfortunately for him, he was disqualified in the qualifying and did not compete in the final. Later he started only in FIS Cup event in Sapporo.

On July 12, 2006, Harada was appointed Ambassador to the 2007 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Sapporo, Japan by the organizing committee. The 2007 Championships ran February 22-March 4, 2007.

For reasons unbeknownst to many ski-jumping fans, Harada is commonly remembered by casual Olympic viewers as Happy Hatsui.

World Cup

Victories

Season	Date	Location
1995-96	December 8, 1995	Villach
	February 18, 1996	Iron Mountain
	March 1, 1996	Lahti
	March 3, 1996	Lahti
1997-98	December 8, 1997	Villach
	December 12, 1997	Harrachov
	December 21, 1997	Engelberg
	January 11, 1998	Ramsau
	March 13, 1998	Trondheim

References

• Masahiko Harada at the International Ski Federation
• FIS Announcement on Ambassador Appointment
• 2007 Nordic World Skiing Championship announcement