Olympic champion figure skater Yuzuru Hanyu said he hasn’t decided if he will continue competing or turn professional after the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Games, clarifying comments he made last week, according to the Yomiuri Shimbun.
Last week, the Japanese star was quoted as saying, “It’s been my plan since I was very young to win a gold medal in Sochi and end competitive skating with another [gold medal] at the next Olympics and join the professional ranks.”
Hanyu, who dropped to silver behind Spain’s Javier Fernandez at this year’s World Championships, said in a more recent interview that those comments didn’t mean he would stop competing after the 2018 Olympics.
“I was very surprised to learn that [my remarks] were regarded as a kind of retirement statement,” Hanyu said, according to the Yomiuri Shimbun. “I just mentioned a future plan I envisioned when I was a child. I guess I failed to give a proper explanation. I haven’t decided what I will do after the Pyeongchang Games.
“In reality, I’m not sure what I will think until the moment actually arrives. If I’m dissatisfied after the Pyeongchang Games, I’ll continue skating until I become satisfied. It’s not something concrete.”
In 2018, Hanyu, 20, could become the first man to repeat as Olympic figure skating champion since American Dick Button in 1948 and 1952.
