Olympic champion Kodaira to retire
16:05 JST, April 12, 2022
Former Olympic speed skating champion Nao Kodaira will retire from the sport in October following a final race in her hometown of Nagano, the long track speed skater said on Tuesday.
The 35-year-old won Olympic gold in the women’s 500 meters in Pyeongchang four years ago, as well as a silver in the 1,000 meters. She also won a silver in the team pursuit event in Vancouver 2010, alongside Masako Hozumi and Maki Tabata.
Kodaira had a disappointing outing at the Beijing Winter Games in February, finishing 17th in the 500 meters and 10th in the 1,000 meters.
“I’m nervous about what I’m about to say,” Kodaira told a news conference. “I … will run the last race of my career this October at the national single distances championships.
“When I thought about how long life is, I didn’t want it to be only about speed skating. I felt that now was around the right time.
“There are several reasons but I wanted to race one last time while I still can physically. I wanted the last race to be at home in [the Shinshu region].”
Kodaira won 500 meters gold at the World Single Distance Championships in 2017 and 2020.
"Sports" POPULAR ARTICLE
-
Shohei Ohtani Defied Ex-Interpreter’s Request to Cover Up Fraud, Report
-
Shohei Ohtani Hits 176 MLB Homers; the Most by a Japanese-Born Player Surpassing Hideki Matsui
-
Japanese Public Divided Over Hosting Future Olympic Games As Corruption, Bid-Rigging Scandals Blunt Enthusiasm
-
Here’s How Investigators Allege Ippei Mizuhara Stole $16 million From Shohei Ohtani
-
Hanshin Tigers Create Video to Combat Insults, Offensive Songs Against Other Teams
JN ACCESS RANKING
- M6.0 Earthquake Hits Japan’s Tohoku Region; Fukushima, Iwate, Miyagi Prefectures Observe 4 on Japanese Scale With No Risk of Tsunami
- Cherry Blossoms Draw Crowd to Tokyo’s Ueno Park; Viewing Season Kicks Off to Slow Start
- China Mutes Memorialization of Reformer Hu Yaobang; Memories Could Spark Critique of Xi Administration
- Shinkansen Services Suspended After Man ‘Searches for Phone’ on Tracks; Disruption Affects About 14,000 Passengers
- Whaling Mother Ship Built in Japan for 1st Time in 73 Years