Japanese-made ‘ID one’ skis dominate Olympic mogul racing

Uemura Makoto Fujimoto, the 67-year-old president of Material Sports, started his business selling ski goggles in 1991 and gradually built a vast network in the ski world. Among those with whom she formed close relationships was Japanese skier Aiko Uemura, who placed in the top eight in women’s moguls in five consecutive Winter Olympics, starting with the 1998 Nagano Games. Over dinner in 1999, their conversation turned to skiing. When Uemura told him that the skis she was using at the time weren’t right for her, Fujimoto offered to make a pair himself. Around the same time, Finnish Janne Lahtela, who won the silver medal in men’s moguls at the Nagano Olympics, contacted Fujimoto looking for high-quality skis.

Thanks to these meetings, with the support of a highly qualified factory in Japan, Fujimoto developed the ID one in 2000, placing great importance on creating skis that were both flexible and durable. For the core material, he chose domestically produced wood instead of polyurethane, which was the industry standard at the time. By combining hardwood and softwood, he managed to achieve the right balance between strength and responsiveness. He also introduced small notches along the metal edges of the skis, allowing them to bend more easily. After repeated tests and refinements, he created the first pair of ID one skis. Looking back, Fujimoto recalled being driven by “determination to help the two skiers win at all costs.”

His resolve paid off at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics, where Lahtela won gold on a pair of ID one skis. The victory significantly raised the profile of this made-in-Japan brand and led to contracts with top-level athletes. At the 2022 Beijing Olympics, every medalist in both the men’s and women’s moguls events competed on ID one skis. Japanese skier Ikuma Horishima, 28, a loyal user of the brand since childhood, then won bronze in moguls and silver in parallel moguls at the Milan-Cortina Games.

A former member of the technical ski club at Osaka University of Health and Sports Sciences, Fujimoto had no background in either the Moguls or ski manufacturing. Even so, he has become a bridge between the athletes and the factory, relying on an affable personality that naturally attracts people. Fujimoto said that when he receives requests for new product development, he places great importance on “bringing out (athletes’) true feelings.”

When he began working on the development of the skis, he boldly told the factory staff that he would become “number 1 in the world”. At the time, they didn’t take it seriously. Since then, however, his company has become one of the world’s leading manufacturers of mogul skis. Working quietly behind the scenes, Fujimoto continues to support skiers in their pursuit of success. “It makes me really happy when athletes using ID one win on the world stage,” he said.