Yuzuru Hanyu, Japan’s Two-Time Olympic Ice Skating Champion, Has Retired.

Yuzuru Hanyu, a two-time Olympic champion from Japan in figure skating, announced his retirement from the competition on Tuesday at the age of 27.

The “Ice Prince,” a skater who is 27 years old, said at a news conference on Tuesday in Tokyo that he would stop competing but would still pursue a professional skating career by participating in events like ice shows.

 

 

“I’m no longer going to be compared to other skaters as a competitor,” Hanyu said, adding that he will focus on skating in exhibition events for his loving fans.

Due to an ankle ailment, Hanyu struggled at this year’s Beijing Winter Olympics. He failed to achieve his long-held objective of the quadruple axel, a leap that has never been properly done by any skater in history. but Hanyu vowed he would try again.

“This time, it seems like everything has gone wrong”, Hanyu Stated.

Hanyu is a national hero in Japan, where he was given the prestigious People’s Honour Award at a young age in 2018.

Hanyu has also a large following base in Japan and across the world, but especially in China, where he overcame geopolitical challenges to become one of that nation’s most beloved sportsmen.

Despite deteriorating ties between the two nations, Hanyu even had diplomatic backing from China during the Winter Olympics.