Yumie Hayashi

Quick Facts

Intro

Japanese curler

From

Japan

Athlete Curler

Work field

Sports

Gender

Female

Star sign

Aries

Birth

5 April 1978, Sorachi District, Japan

Age

46 years

Stats

Height:

153 cm

Education

Sapporo Otani Junior College,

The details (from wikipedia)

Biography

Yumie Funayama (船山弓枝, Funayama Yumie) is a Japanese curler, born April 5, 1978 in Tokoro, Kitami, Hokkaido as Yumie Hayashi (林弓枝, Hayashi Yumie). She is currently the lead for Sayaka Yoshimura's team from Sapporo, Hokkaido, most of whom represented Japan at the 2014 Winter Olympics.

Career

At the age of 12, Funayama began curling in her hometown Tokoro, joining Akiko Katoh's junior team together with Ayumi Onodera. Then Funayama became the third for the team. The team represented Japan at four World Junior Curling Championships (1996, 1997, 1998 & 1999), winning a silver medal in 1998 and another silver in 1999. The team later represented Japan at the 2002 Winter Olympics, finishing in 8th place with a 2-7 record.

After the 2001-2002 season, Funayama and her longtime teammate Onodera moved to Aomori and formed a new team there. The team, called 'Team Aomori', represented Japan at the 2006 Winter Olympics. At the Games, Funayama threw third stones under skip Onodera, and the team finished in 7th place with a 4-5 record, including a surprise win over one of the usual curling powerhouses, Canada. After the 2005-2006 season, Funayama and Onodera announced their temporary retirement. Funayama got married and had a child before returning to the sport in the 2011-12 season.

In 2011, Funayama and Onodera, whose name had changed to Ayumi Ogasawara after marriage, formed a new team in Sapporo. The team qualified for the 2014 Winter Olympics through the Olympic Qualification Event held in December 2013. At the Olympic Games, Funayama threw third stones under skip Ogasawara, and the team finished in 5th place with a 4-5 record, winning against two former World Championship teams, Switzerland's Mirjam Ott and China's Wang Bingyu.