Yuzuru Hanyu has announced his retirement from competition
Posted: Tue Jul 19, 2022 8:24 am
From: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20 ... sp/033000c
Figure skating: Japanese icon Hanyu retires from competition
July 19, 2022 (Mainichi Japan)
Two-time Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu holds a press conference in Tokyo on July 19, 2022. (Kyodo)
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japanese figure skating icon Yuzuru Hanyu announced he is retiring from competition Tuesday but will continue his bid to land the elusive quadruple axel as a professional exhibition skater.
After missing out on a third straight Olympic gold at the Beijing Games in February, the 27-year-old two-time world champion left it unclear whether he would ever again compete on the ice.
"I'll no longer be able to be compared with other competitors," he said during a press conference in Tokyo. "But I'll keep fighting my weaknesses and my past self."
"In terms of results, I've achieved the things I could achieve. I stopped wanting to be evaluated."
He narrowly missed becoming the first athlete to land the quad axel in competition during his free skate in Beijing, falling on his attempt at the four-and-a-half rotation jump.
Hanyu, also a four-time Grand Prix Final winner and six-time national champion, withdrew from the world championships in March as he had not recovered from the ankle sprain he sustained in Beijing.
"I carried on until Beijing in pursuit of the quad axel but I feel I can do it, not necessarily in competitions...I actually feel it gives a chance for more people to witness it (in person)."
"I made the decision (to stop competing) after Beijing...I've thought through many things and felt I no longer need to be on the same stage, while also feeling more determined to get better and stronger."
A native of Sendai in northeastern Japan's Tohoku region, Hanyu inspired victims of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that devastated the area with his victory at the 2014 Sochi Games.
He made a historic defense of his Olympic gold at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games, becoming the first to achieve the feat in the sport in 66 years, since American Dick Button.
Hanyu became the youngest recipient of the Japanese government's People's Honor Award at age 23 that year.
