Daisuke Takahashi and Yanaka Muramoto, who have announced that they will retire from ice dancing at the end of this season, will then attend a press conference at a hotel in Tokyo at 2 p.m. It's about explaining why you decided to retire.
I would like to report on the press conference in a flash report.
Takahashi and Muramoto.
The two, nicknamed "Kanadai" because of their names, uploaded a video to their official social media site shortly after 2 p.m. on May 5.
Takahashi said, "I have decided to retire from competitive life after this season," and Muramoto said, "The two of us discussed various things and decided," and announced that they would retire from active football together at the end of this season.
Who is Daisuke Takahashi?
Daisuke Takahashi is a 37-year-old from Okayama Prefecture.
In his teens and twenties, he possessed world-class expression and skating skills in men's singles, and won the All Japan Championships five times Japan becoming a leading figure in men's competition.
On the international stage, he made his Olympic debut at the Turin Olympics in 10 at the age of 20 and won bronze in the men's singles event at Vancouver 5, the first medal for a Japan athlete.
Vancouver Olympics (2010)
Shortly after, he became the first Japan player to win the men's singles title at the World Championships.
After finishing sixth in Sochi in 2014, which was regarded as the culmination of his competitive career, he temporarily retired from active play, but returned in 6 and finished 2018th at the 2019 All Japan Championships, his last appearance as a singles player.
The Japan Championship, his last performance as a singles player (2019)
That year, Takahashi announced his switch from men's singles to ice dancing at the age of 33, saying, "I want to expand my skating values," and since 2020, he has been based in Florida, USA, as a couple with Yanaka Muramoto.
At the beginning of the group, they struggled with steps and lifts, as well as movements that matched the opponents peculiar to ice dancers, but even as they got older, they improved their skills with abundant practice and continued rigorous strength training, and they grew rapidly as ice dancers.
Who is Yanaka Muramoto?
Yanaka Muramoto is a 30-year-old from Hyogo Prefecture.
She switched from women's singles to ice dancing during the 2014 season and formed a couple with Chris Reid in 2015.
From that year to 2017, he won three consecutive Japan championships, and at the Pyeongchang Olympics the following year, he finished 3th, matching the record high of the Japan.
After that, he dissolved his couple with Reed, and from 15, he invited Daisuke Takahashi, who had been active in men's singles for many years, to form a new couple.
From the very beginning, he supported Takahashi, who struggled with the unique movements of ice dance, and used his abundant experience as an ice dancer such as brilliant spins and steps to raise the level of his Japan in ice dancing where overseas competitors are dominant.
The history of the "Kanadai" couple
Ice dancers Yanaka Muramoto and Daisuke Takahashi, nicknamed "Kanadai," were in their third season as a couple.
In 3, the two formed a new couple with the goal of participating in the Beijing Olympics, and have been based in Florida, USA.
In the beginning, Takahashi struggled to adapt to his opponents, which is unique to ice dancing, and he continued to make mistakes in spins and lifts in the competition.
Nevertheless, in the second season, the technique improved dramatically, and in rhythm dance, the program based on Japan's "Soran Bushi" was highly evaluated, and it grew to the point where it scored the highest score ever in Japan.
In the 2 All Japan Championships, she lost to rivals Misato Komatsubara and Takashi and finished second, and although she did not qualify for the Beijing Olympics, she steadily achieved results on the international stage, including second place at the Four Continents Championships in January 2020.
For the third season, they struggled to decide whether to continue as a couple, but ultimately decided to continue and have been training hard.
For this season's free dance program, Takahashi chose "The Phantom of the Opera," which he also performed in the men's singles era, and has focused on depicting the world view of the two of them.
Free acting at the World Championships (March 2023)
Then, at the All Japan Championships in December last year, he won his long-awaited first victory and secured his ticket to the World Championships, and in March this year, he performed the program of "The Phantom of the Opera" that he had been particular about brilliantly and without mistakes, and finished 12th at the World Championships, which is the highest ever for Japan.
Immediately after the performance, the two wept and rejoiced on the rink, expressing a sense of accomplishment, saying that they were able to perform satisfactorily.
After that, they participated in the final match of the season, the World Country Championship in April, and the decision of the two players was focused on whether they would continue to play.