Former Japan Olympic champion Kodaira to retire

Nao Kodaira, a former Olympic speed skater champion from Japan, said on Tuesday that she will retire from the sport in October after a farewell event in her birthplace of Nagano.

In Pyeongchang four years ago, the 35-year-old earned Olympic gold in the women’s 500 metres and silver in the 1,000 metres. In Pyeongchang 2010, she also took silver in the team pursuit event with Masako Hozumi and Maki Tabata.

In February, Kodaira had a poor showing in the Beijing Winter Games, finishing 17th in the 500m and 10th in the 1,000m.

“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)”

In 2017 and 2020, Kodaira won gold in the 500m at the World Single Distance Championships.