Former Olympic medalist Daisuke Takahashi took his final bow as a solo competitor at the Japan Figure Skating Championship at Yoyogi National Stadium in Tokyo on Sunday, receiving a heartfelt sendoff despite a mistake-ridden performance.
"It's a regrettable final act, but after the heart-warming applause I received, I can step forward to the next stage," the 33-year-old Takahashi said.
The audience was on firmly his side, lifting the star skater who won the bronze medal at the Vancouver Winter Olympics with applause throughout his performance, which left him in 12th place in the men's competition serving as a qualifier for the world championships in March.
Shoma Uno, second after the short program, won his fourth straight gold medal, finishing ahead of two-time Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu.
He stumbled many times on his landings and fell on his final triple axel. Despite those mistakes, the audience was enthralled by his skate step sequence, which has been described as among the best in the world.
The standing ovation he received after the performance brought tears to his eyes.
Takahashi, who plans to switch to the ice dancing event, has earned a place in figure skating history with his achievements.
Following his Olympic debut at the 2006 Turin Games, he became the first Japanese male figure skater to win an Olympic medal four years later in Vancouver. That year, he also won the world championship.
Takahashi retired from competition after the 2014 Sochi Games, but made a comeback to the sport last year.
"My body hasn't been moving in the way that I want it to. I knew that I wouldn't be able to catch up with the level of today's skaters," he said.
Takahashi's season was hindered by an ankle injury that limited his practicing. However, he decided to compete one last time in a singles event as an expression of gratitude to his fans.
"It's not the coolest way to end, but perhaps it's my style," he said.
After the performance, Takahashi presented a bouquet of flowers to Utako Nagamitsu, his coach for about 20 years.
With eyes on the 2022 Beijing Winter Games, Takahashi said, "I want to return to this stage in the ice dancing event next year."
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