Miho Takagi, Japan's most decorated Winter Olympian with 10 medals, announced on Wednesday that she will retire from competition at the end of the season. The 31-year-old speedskater described the World Championships in Heerenveen, Netherlands, starting Thursday, as "a turning point of my skating life" on Instagram.
Takagi debuted at the Olympics at age 15 in Vancouver 2010, missed Sochi 2014, then won three medals including team pursuit gold at Pyeongchang 2018. At Beijing 2022, she earned four medals highlighted by 1,000m gold and 1,500m silver, motivating her to chase 1,500m gold.
Last month at the Milano Cortina Olympics, she took bronze in the 1,000m, 500m, and team pursuit but finished sixth in the 1,500m.
An exceptional all-rounder from sprints to distances, she boasts 38 individual World Cup wins—the most by any Japanese skater—and holds the 1,500m world record of 1:49.83.