Retired Olympic Figure Skating Medalist Takahashi Coming Back

July 2, 2018

Tokyo- Olympic figure skating medalist Daisuke Takahashi, who retired in 2014, said Sunday he will return to competition this autumn.

He aims to make a comeback at the Kinki regional championships in October and seek a berth for the national championships in December, Takahashi told a press conference in the evening.

Takahashi, 32, competed in figure skating singles for men in three consecutive Olympic Games from 2006.

He won the bronze medal at the 2010 Vancouver Games, becoming the first Japanese male skater to earn an Olympic medal in the sport, and retired after ending up in sixth at the 2014 Sochi Games.

"I'd like to be fully content with my performances after the comeback, because I failed to feel I'd done everything in my competitive life before the retirement," Takahashi said in a statement.

"I became eager to compete again, after watching other skaters performing at the national championships in December last year," he said.

Asked at the news conference to comment on the top Japanese male figure skaters of Yuzuru Hanyu, who successively won golds at the Sochi and Pyeongchang Games, and Shoma Uno, the Pyeongchang silver winner, Takahashi said, "They are in another dimension."

Revealing he started training in April, Takahashi said, "Now I can land a triple axel." Jiji Press