Tokyo, Japan, July 19, 2022: Two-time Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan announced his retirement from competitive figure skating on Tuesday, July 19.
Hanyu, 27, made the announcement at a hastily arranged press conference in Tokyo, his first since the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games, reports Olympics.com.
"I have decided to go into professional figure skating", Hanyu said, referring to the popular ice shows.
"I'm not sad at all. There's no sadness. And I want to keep working. But I'm no longer confined to the realm of competitions anymore. I think I can take figure skating to different places in different ways now".
Hanyu said he made his final decision as he was treating the right-ankle sprain he suffered ahead of the free programme in Beijing.
"I can say for sure that I won't miss the tension of a competition", he said. "But I hope to work as hard as ever so people will want to keep supporting Hanyu as they know him.
"After the Beijing Olympics, when I got home, I couldn't skate because of the pain in the ankle. I thought about all kinds of things then but I felt that I don't need to be on this stage forever."
Japan’s Ice Prince won gold at Sochi 2014 and defended his title at PyeongChang 2018 before finishing fourth at Beijing. He also won two world championships, four Grand Prix Finals and six national championships.