Japanese figure skater Yuzuru Hanyu today announced his retirement from top-level competition, following a successful career that has made him a legend in the sport. "I have made the decision not to continue competing," Hanyu said at a press conference in Tokyo on Tuesday, after local media announced his withdrawal.
"I will do my best so that people continue to be interested in seeing my performances," said the double Olympic gold medalist and two-time world champion, who will continue to skate in the exhibition modality, through tears.
Hanyu, who confessed to being "nervous" about "telling his decision in his own words", began his appearance by thanking all the attendees and all the people who have supported him during his career, as well as his coaches. "I always get a lot of messages of support, even at times like before today's press conference," said the 27-year-old.
When asked if he considers his participation in the Olympic Games as the highlights of his career, he expressed his satisfaction at having won two gold medals but also regretted "not having completed his challenge" at the Beijing Olympics last February, the last in which he participated and in which he was fourth.
"I have no intention of competing again because of what I've already achieved, and maybe I'm not looking for that result anymore... That's the process that has led me to make this decision," said the Japanese skater, who explained that he already raised his withdrawal after the PyeongChang Games (South Korea) in 2018. "But the real decision came after Beijing, because I was injured and it hurt so much that it did not allow me to train. I thought that I could not continue like this, since I wanted to feel better skating," he said.
Hanyu referred to an exhibition he participated in recently that made him "want to be there" and show his best skating to people already outside of professional competition. "For me, skating is living, it's something I carry deep inside," she said.
The Japanese athlete also confessed that he is going to "lessen his nerves before the competitions", although he added that he will also push himself to the maximum "to try to give a very high level" in his performances.
The athlete from Sendai (northeast Japan), a four-time figure skating Grand Prix champion, has had to deal with a series of injuries in the final stretch of his career and last March he withdrew from the world championships after not having still recovered from a sprain suffered during the Beijing Olympics last February.
He won two consecutive gold medals at the 2014 Sochi (Russia) Winter Games and the 2018 PyeongChang (South Korea) Winter Games, making him the first figure skater in the men's category to achieve this feat at the Olympic Games in the last six decades. In PyeongChang he shared the podium with the Spanish Javier Fernández, bronze medalist, training partner and great friend despite their rivalry on the ice.
In 2018, the skater also received the People's Honor Award from the Government of Japan, the first athlete in this discipline to receive it and the youngest recipient of this recognition.
