Profile

Sara was born on October 8, 1996 in Kamikawa-cho, Hokkaido.
She began ski jumping in 2004, at the age of eight. She was drawn to this sport for several reasons; for example, her father was a ski jumper from same generation as Olympic athlete Masahiko Harada. Many of the people around Sara, including her older brother and friends, also took part in ski jumping. At first Sara took small jumps wearing downhill skis. But after she saw ski jumper Izumi Yamada on television, Sara decided to join a youth ski jumping team.

Sara lived in a fantastic environment for ski jumping—there was a practice jump in her neighborhood, and she also received guidance from her father, older brother, and other athletes. More than anything, Sara’s diligent work allowed her natural talents to bloom. In 2009 she won the Grand Prize at a competition held at the Okurayama Jump Stadium in Sapporo-shi. At age 13, she joined the Japan Women’s Team.
Furthermore, Sara set a record for the longest successful jump—141 meters—at the Okurayama Ski Jump, where she participated in the Women’s Division of the 53rd HBC Cup in 2011 (right before she graduated from junior high school). In February of the same year, she became the youngest woman to win an international ski jumping competition officially recognized by the International Ski Federation (FIS) at the Continental Cup.

After graduating from junior high school, Sara entered Grace Mountain International School in Asahikawa-shi, Hokkaido. She was dedicated to her schooling while also improving her ski jumping skills; in her first year of high school, she passed the Certificate for Students Achieving the Proficiency Level of Upper Secondary School Graduates (high-school equivalency examination). In this way, she has made efforts in the dual fields of ski jumping and schoolwork.
During the 2011 – 2012 season, Sara won a gold medal at the Innsbruck Youth Olympic Games. During the 2012 – 2013 season, she won for the second consecutive year at the Nordic Junior World Ski Championships.
Moreover, Sara won in her first appearance at the FIS Women’s World Cup—without even completing the remaining two jumps—and become the youngest individual to secure an overall victory.