Mai Murakami, the first Japanese female athlete to win a medal in an individual event in the gymnastics of the Tokyo Olympics, has announced her retirement.
"I was thinking of ending it at a good time."
After the World Championships on the 24th, Murakami said, "I'm going to retire today," and announced that he will retire from active duty by the World Championships.
Murakami is 25 years old from Kanagawa prefecture.
With his powerful legs and dynamic performance that makes the most of the spring, he contributed to the 4th place in the Japanese women's group at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.
At the World Championships the following year, he won the gold medal for the first time in 63 years as a Japanese female player in Yuka by event.
In addition, at the 2018 World Championships, he was the first Japanese female player to win a silver medal in an all-around.
At the Tokyo Olympics, I won the bronze medal, which is the first medal in an individual Olympic event as a Japanese female athlete.
Murakami won the gold medal in the floor and the bronze medal in the balance beam at the world championships until the 24th.
Murakami said about the reason for his retirement, "I was mentally ill and I was barely physically fit. I was thinking of ending it at a good time."
Regarding the future, he said, "I hope I can help behind the scenes so that many Japanese female athletes can win medals at the next Paris Olympic Games and Los Angeles Games."