Susumu Sugiyama

Susumu Sugiyama took up alpine skiing at a young age and won his first Japanese national titles, in the slalom and the downhill, in 1954. Two years later he was selected to represent his country at the 1956 Cortina d’Ampezzo Olympics, where he was 28th in the downhill, 33rd in the slalom, and 45th in the giant slalom. He went on to win overall Japanese titles in 1957 and 1960, but was not selected for the Squaw Valley Olympics in the latter year, as the national federation wanted to give opportunities to younger competitors. He therefore retired from active competition in 1962.

Sugiyama did not abandon his sport, however, and immediately took to training, acquiring certifications from Europe. He took his skills back to Japan and established a ski school in 1965, which was still operating as of his death in 2025. His conflict with the amateur ethos of the time caused him to found the Japan Professional Ski Teachers Association in 1968, leading to him to also serve his sport in a variety of administrative roles.