is a former Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese Nordic combined

Nordic combined

The Nordic combined is a winter sport in which athletes compete in both cross-country skiing and ski jumping.- History :While Norwegian soldiers are known to have been competing in Nordic skiing since the 19th century, the first major competition in Nordic combined was held in 1892 in Oslo at the...

 skier who won several medals at the Winter Olympics, the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships

FIS Nordic World Ski Championships

The FIS Nordic World Ski Championships have been held in various numbers and types of events since 1925 for men and since 1954 for women. Championship events include nordic skiing's three disciplines: cross-country skiing, ski jumping, and nordic combined...

, and the Holmenkollen ski festival

Holmenkollen ski festival

The Holmenkollen Ski Festival is a traditional annual Nordic skiing event in Holmenkollen, Oslo, Norway. The full official name of the event is Holmenkollen FIS World Cup Nordic. It takes place in March and has been arranged every year since 1892, except for 1898 and during World War II...

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He won gold medals in the Nordic combined team events at the 1992

1992 Winter Olympics

The 1992 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVI Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event celebrated from 8 to 23 February 1992 in Albertville, France. They were the last Winter Olympics to be held the same year as the Summer Olympics, and the first where the Winter Paralympics...

 and 1994 Winter Olympics

1994 Winter Olympics

The 1994 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVII Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event celebrated from 12 to 27 February 1994 in and around Lillehammer, Norway. Lillehammer failed to win the bid for the 1992 event. Lillehammer was awarded the games in 1988, after having beat...

. Ogiwara won two gold medals each in the 15 km individual (1993, 1997) and the team (3 x 10 km: 1993, 4 x 5 km: 1995) events and one bronze in the 7.5 km sprint (1999) at the Nordic skiing world championships. In 1995, Ogiwara won the Nordic combined event at the Holmenkollen ski festival.

Ogiwara received the Holmenkollen medal

Holmenkollen medal

The Holmenkollen medal is Norwegian skiing's highest award for competitors. It signifies top placings in international championships and other international events, including the Holmenkollen events....

 in 1995, becoming the first non-Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

an and first Asia

Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...

n to ever receive the honor. At the 1998 Winter Olympics

1998 Winter Olympics

The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially the XVIII Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event celebrated from 7 to 22 February 1998 in Nagano, Japan. Seventy-two nations and 2,176 participans contested in seven sports and 72 events at 15 venues. The games saw the introduction of Women's ice...

, he took the Athlete's Oath

Olympic Oath

The Olympic Oath is a solemn promise made by one athlete -- as a representative of each of the participating Olympic competitors; and by one judge -- as a representative of each officiating Olympic referee or other official, at the opening ceremonies of each Olympic Games...

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Ogiwara's twin brother Tsugiharu

Tsugiharu Ogiwara

is a Japanese nordic combined skier who competed from 1994 to 1998. He won the 4 x 5 km team event at the 1995 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Thunder Bay, Ontario....

 competed with him at the 1995 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships

1995 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships

The FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 1995 took place 9–19 March 1995 in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. This marked the second time the championships were held outside of Europe...

 in Thunder Bay

Thunder Bay

-In Canada:Thunder Bay is the name of three places in the province of Ontario, Canada along Lake Superior:*Thunder Bay District, Ontario, a district in Northwestern Ontario*Thunder Bay, a city in Thunder Bay District*Thunder Bay, Unorganized, Ontario...

, Ontario

Ontario

Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

, sharing a gold with him in the 4 x 5 km team event.

Ogiwara has also stood as candidate for Liberal Democratic Party

Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)

The , frequently abbreviated to LDP or , is a centre-right political party in Japan. It is one of the most consistently successful political parties in the democratic world. The LDP ruled almost continuously for nearly 54 years from its founding in 1955 until its defeat in the 2009 election...

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