Hailing from the ancient port town of Karatsu, Yumiko Shige formed one of the top boats the in women’s 470 fleet in the early 1990s, together with Danish-Japanese sailor Alicia Kinoshita. While they never clinched a major title, they earned various international medals. Their silver medal in Savannah at the 1996 Olympics was the first ever in Olympic sailing for Japan. At the World Championships, they earned silver in 1992 (both at the 470 Worlds, and the Women’s Worlds), and bronze in 1995. They also claimed victories at the prestigious Kieler Woche in 1992 and 1994-95. After the Sydney Olympics, Shige switched to the Moth, before (unsuccessfully) trying to qualify for a fourth Olympics in the Yngling. Her last major competition were the 2008 Yngling Worlds. She died of breast cancer at the age of 53.
Japan