Snowboarder Ayumu Hirano, a candidate for the men's halfpipe gold at the Beijing Olympics, was named to Japan's team Wednesday, effectively bringing all of the nation's biggest medal prospects on board for the Feb. 4 to Feb. 20 event.
Hirano joins a national team featuring two-time defending men's figure skate champion Yuzuru Hanyu, speed skater Miho Takagi, a gold-medal candidate in multiple events, and men's ski jumping World Cup leader Ryoyu Kobayashi.
The Ski Association of Japan named Hirano and 45 others to fill out its 55-member squad. Among them were men's Nordic combined ace Akito Watabe and Ikuma Horishima, a three-time winner this season on the men's mogul World Cup circuit.
The association sent a 39-member squad to the 2014 Sochi Olympics and dispatched 47 four years ago to Pyeongchang.
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