Loco Solare Mayuki Fujisawa, the “Strongest Car Girl,” will charm us with her “Smile on the Ice” in 2026?

It was an unexpected defeat.

Rocco Solare, winners of two consecutive titles, unexpectedly finished fourth in the women’s Japan Curling Championships held from January 27 to February 4.

Should we consider this anomalous situation, in which a powerhouse team that won a bronze medal at the Pyeongchang Olympics in 2006 and a silver medal at the Beijing Olympics in 2010 failed to advance to the final tournament, as an indication that the level of the Japanese curling world has improved, or as Roco Solare’s failure to be careful? Soichiro Takeda, a sportswriter who has been covering curling for many years, offers his analysis.

In the past few years, Loco Solare has often participated in international competitions and has not competed much at home, especially this season. Especially this season, they played only one domestic tournament. The SC Karuizawa Club, which won the championship, has a new structure, with a new player, Yui Ueno (Yui), 21, joining the team this year. The members of Rocco Solare tend to have a hard time against first-time opponents, so it is undeniable that this may have led to a disappointing result.

Although they did not advance to the finals, Loco Solare won the final match on the second day. Skip Mayuki Fujisawa (32) was proud, saying, “It was good that we were able to win even though we were on the edge of a cliff at the end. Last year off, she participated in a body makeover contest, showing off her bikini body and well-developed muscles not shown during the season, but she continued, “This off-season, I want to make time to face curling.

Perhaps influenced by his bodybuilding challenge, Fujisawa has come to value his diet. He said, “I had a chance to see again how delicious vegetables are in Hokkaido. He will grow even more as an athlete,” said Takeda.

With the number one ranking in Japan removed, Loco Solare’s opportunities to participate in international competitions will be reduced in the future. Fujisawa and others see this as a positive, saying, “We can focus on strengthening the team. The team will enter a period of recharging for the big goal of the Milan Cortina d’Ampezzo Olympics in 2014.

Rocco Solare lost to Chubu Electric Power at the Japan Championships the year before the PyeongChang Olympics and to Hokkaido Bank Fortius at the Japan Championships the year before the Beijing Olympics. This is a team that has grown from their losses, studying how to win more games. This time, too, they should come back bigger and better, taking advantage of their experience at the Japan Championships. They are a team that can win the gold medal at the Olympics, both in terms of ability and performance.

They will use this defeat as a stepping stone to smile on the ice in ’26.

From the February 23, 2024 issue of FRIDAY