Veteran ski jumper Harada to retire

Veteran ski jumper Harada to retire{mosimage}TOKYO – Olympic gold-medal ski jumper Masahiko Harada of Japan will retire at the end of this season, the Ski Association of Japan said Wednesday.

Harada, 37, is a 1998 Olympic gold medalist and two-time world champion but hasn’t competed on the elite World Cup circuit since late 2002.

The veteran jumper took part in the Torino Olympics, but was disqualified for violating a rule regarding ski length after making one jump in the normal-hill qualifying round. He was left out of both the large-hill and team events.

Harada represented Japan in five straight Olympics beginning with the 1992 Albertville Games. His career highlights include the team gold and large-hill bronze he won on home snow at the Nagano Olympics.

– The Associated Press