Swimming: Dual Olympic champ Ohashi ‘cheerful’ about retirement

TOKYO (Kyodo) — Tokyo Olympic dual gold medalist Yui Ohashi said Friday she retired from competition with a “cheerful feeling” after a “very satisfying swimming career.”

Ohashi, whose retirement press conference coincided with her 29th birthday, swam her final race last month at the National Sports Festival in Saga Prefecture, southwestern Japan.

“I have been blessed with help from many people,” Ohashi said. “I met the people I needed to meet at the time I needed to, and I learned a lot.”

Ohashi became the first female swimmer representing Japan to win two gold medals at a single Olympics when she topped the podium in the women’s 200- and 400-meter individual medley races at the Tokyo Games in 2021.

At this year’s Paris Olympics, she contested only the 200 IM and did not reach the final after placing 12th in the semis. The result reflected Japan’s overall struggles in the pool in Paris, where just one Japanese swimmer won a medal.

Ohashi plans to study sports nutrition at graduate school and wants to help develop the country’s next generation of swimmers as a coach at a swimming school.

“The Japanese swimming world is going through some difficulties, but among the young swimmers who competed with me in Paris, there are some who will be successful in the future,” Ohashi said. “I want to produce swimmers who can win gold at the Olympics.”