Former world champion Kenji Ogiwara, who led the Japanese Nordic combined skiing team to a pair of Olympic gold medals, will retire from international competition, informed sources said Wednesday.
Ogiwara, 32, has told team officials at his Nagano-based Kitano Construction skiing team that he will not participate in next season's major international meets and wants to shift his focus to domestic events with an eye to launching a coaching career.
Ogiwara won the individual title at the 1993 and 1997 World Championships and claimed an unprecedented three straight World Cups from the 1992-93 season.
He anchored the Japanese Olympic team to its first-ever Nordic combined gold medal in Albertville in 1992 and again in Lillehammer four years later, although he failed to capture an individual Olympic medal.
His best finish in individual Olympic events is fourth in Lillehammer and at the 1998 Nagano Games.
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