Japanese Speedskater Takagi Announces Retirement

Tokyo, March 4 (Jiji Press)–Speedskater Miho Takagi, Japan’s most decorated Winter Olympian with 10 medals, said Wednesday that she will retire from competition at the end of this season. The world championships in Heerenveen, the Netherlands, opening Thursday will be “a turning point of my skating life,” Takagi, 31, said on Instagram. In the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, Takagi won four medals, including gold in the 1,000-meter event and silver in the 1,500-meter event. She then chose to continue competing in pursuit of gold in the 1,500 meters. At the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics last month, she won bronze in the 1,000 meters, 500 meters and team pursuit but finished sixth in the 1,500 meters. Takagi made her Olympic debut at 15 at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. After failing to qualify for the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, she competed in the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, claiming three medals, including gold in the team pursuit. An all-rounder with world-class performances from sprint to long distance, Takagi amassed 38 individual World Cup victories, the most by any Japanese skater, male or female. She holds the 1,500-meter world record of 1 minute, 49.83 seconds. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]