On Tuesday, Japan’s most beloved male figure skater Yuzuru Hanyu announced his retirement, stating that he will no longer skate competitively. This is the end of a 12-year career for the 27-year-old skating champion, who has a host of accolades under his belt including two Olympic gold medals. Hanyu is widely regarded as one of the best figure skaters the world has ever seen.
Fans were already anticipating the ‘Ice Prince’ to announce his retirement shortly after his appearance in the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics. Those who held on to the hopes of finally seeing Hanyu pull off the elusive quad axel in competition are disappointed by the news today.
It’s not all doom and gloom, though, as Hanyu clarified that he will continue to work as a professional figure skater outside of competitions, meaning the best could still be yet to come for the record-breaking athlete.
The Japan Times quoted Hanyu in his press conference saying, ‘I’m blessed to have had so many people support and recognise me… Now, instead of only at competitions, I hope there will be more opportunities to show off my skating, and I’m looking forward to creating those opportunities’.
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