Two-time Olympic gold medalist Yuzuru Hanyu announces his decision to retire from competition and become a professional skater at a news conference in Tokyo on July 19.

Photo/Illutration Two-time Olympic gold medalist Yuzuru Hanyu receives a bouquet at a news conference in Tokyo on July 19 in which he announced his decision to stop competing and become a professional skater. (Takayuki Kakuno)

Two-time Olympic gold medalist Yuzuru Hanyu won't be pursuing medals or seeking to impress judges anymore, but he plans to continue performing for his legions of fans and someday land the quad axel. 

“I have decided to continue skating as a professional athlete,” the 27-year-old figure skating superstar said at a news conference in Tokyo on July 19. 

He said he will not take part in competitions anymore, and that he will skate mainly in ice shows as a professional skater from now on.

He admitted that retiring from competition was continually on his mind after winning his second gold medal in the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in 2018.

He finally made the decision after finishing fourth at the Beijing Games in February, he told reporters.

When asked if he is missing competitive skating, he replied he doesn’t at all.

As far as competitions go, “I feel I have won what I should have won,” adding that he thought he was going to retire from competitions at the time of the 2018 Winter Olympics anyway.

He also said about his decision, “I thought I didn’t need to stay in this stage (competitions) forever. I wanted to be better and stronger.”

“From now on, I want to skate still battling against my past self but also accepting my present self at the same time,” he added.

On his future career, he said, “I believe that there can be opportunities for people to watch my skating in various ways, not at competitions, and I hope to create (those opportunities), so I want people to look forward to them.”

Hanyu was born in Sendai in 1994 and survived the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami, where he was practicing in his hometown at a rink when the massive tremor struck.

He became the first repeat Olympic champion in men’s figure skating in 66 years after winning gold medals at the Sochi Winter Olympics in 2014 and the Pyeongchang Games in 2018.

In 2018, he became the youngest recipient of the People’s Honor Award and the first among Winter Olympic gold medalists.

Hanyu also won the world championships in 2014 and 2017 as well as four consecutive Grand Prix Finals from 2013. He also won six All-Japan Championships.

While he did not successfully land the quad axel that he set as a goal at the Beijing Winer Olympics, the International Skating Union recognized Hanyu as the first to attempt the jump in an ISU-sanctioned competition. 

At his news conference on July 19, Hanyu expressed the desire to continue trying to conquer the elusive jump.

“I will continue doing my best to try even further at the quad axel, while thinking that I will succeed in front of an audience," he said. "I would be grateful if people support me in continuing to challenge it.”

(This article was written by Taisuke Goto and Daisuke Maeda.)

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