Yuzuru Hanyu confirms end to stunning 12-year career; figure skating icon says ‘I have no sadness’
- Two-time Olympic champion announces retirement from competition during a media conference on Tuesday
- Japanese legend will still put on exhibition shows for legion of fans, and vows to land elusive quadruple axel
Japanese figure skating icon and two-time Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu has announced his retirement from competition at the age of 27.
Hanyu told a televised news conference in Tokyo on Tuesday he will concentrate on exhibition shows for his legion of adoring fans.
“I’ll no longer be compared with other skaters as a competitor,” Hanyu said. “I have no sadness. I want to continue to do my best.”
With his graceful style and delicate, boyish looks, Japan’s “Ice Prince” is one of the sport’s all-time greats and an icon to his fan base, whose members call themselves “fanyus” and shower the ice with Winnie the Pooh toys after his routines.
He won his first Olympic singles title at the 2014 Sochi Games and then became the first man in 66 years to defend his crown four years later in Pyeongchang.