Uno Shoma announces retirement from competitive figure skating

Three-time men's figure skating Olympic medalist Uno Shoma announced his retirement via Instagram on Thursday (9 May).

"I have decided to retire as a competitive skater," said the two-time world champion, who turns 27 in December. "I would like to truly thank all those who supported me as a competitor until today.

"I took up figure skating when I was five and managed to continue for 21 years. I am absolutely grateful for the fantastic career I managed to have."

Uno is scheduled to hold a press conference on Tuesday to detail his decision and his future.

Uno - who finished fourth at the World Figure Skating Championships in March after winning the two previous editions - had been contemplating retirement. With Ilia Malinin pulling away from the competition behind his arsenal of jumps including a quadruple Axel, Uno felt lost about the direction of his career.

The Nagoya native had taken on the mantle as Japan's top male skater following the competitive retirement of two-time Olympic champion Hanyu Yuzuru, and carried that torch admirably until Thursday's announcement.

During the 2022-23 season, Uno won all five competitions he entered incluing the world championships - he became the first Japanese man to defend the title - and his maiden Grand Prix Final crown.

While missing the podium at the world championships this past season, he was runner-up at the Grand Prix Final and won the Japanese nationals for a sixth time, tying him with Hanyu and Honda Takeshi.

Uno made two appearances at the Olympic Winter Games, winning a silver medal at PyeongChang 2018 then bronze at Beijing 2022, where he also helped Japan reach the podium in the team event.

The only thing absent from Uno's remarkable curriculum vitae is perhaps an Olympic gold medal.

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