Olympic ski jumping gold medalist Masahiko Harada and leading speed skater Eriko Sanmiya are set to be named as joint captains of the Japan team at the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City, informed sources said Friday.
Harada, who was a member of Japan's gold medal winning quartet in Nagano in 1998, will be competing in his fourth Olympics. He served as vice-captain last time around. Sanmiya, who narrowly missed out on a fourth consecutive national title this month, will become the first woman since Seiko Hashimoto in Calgary in 1988, and only the third woman ever, to lead out the Japanese team at a Winter Olympics opening ceremony.
The appointments will be officially announced after the next Olympic committee meeting on Jan. 11.