PYEONGCHANG -- Snowboarder Tomoka Takeuchi's dream of winning back-to-back Olympic medals in the women's parallel giant slalom ended in the quarterfinals at the Pyeongchang Games on Saturday, but she expressed satisfaction with the past four years since finishing second at the 2014 Sochi Games.
"I made one big mistake in my run, so I have some regret," the 34-year-old veteran said after losing to Germany's Selina Joerg to finish fifth at Phoenix Snow Park. "However, other than the mistake, I had a good run. I feel a sense of accomplishment about what I've done over the [past] four years."
Takeuchi has made it to every Winter Olympics since the 2002 Salt Lake City Games. She made headlines in 2014 when she became the first Japanese female snowboarder to win a medal by finishing second in the parallel giant slalom. "I'm filled with joy at the Olympics no matter how many times I take part," Takeuchi said. "I love the Games so much -- if I could, I would participate throughout my life."
The seasoned snowboarder advanced to the knockout stage after posting the sixth-best total time in two runs in the preliminary round. She came from behind to edge Julia Dujmovits of Austria by 0.17 seconds in the first round, but was 0.62 seconds behind Joerg in the quarterfinals.
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