Kanako to retire after Sochi? | Golden Skate

Kanako to retire after Sochi?

Crystallize

On the Ice
Joined
Mar 11, 2012
I'm not sure if I'm one of the last ones to know, but I did not realize that Kanako does not plan on competing anymore after Sochi. I got the information from here. It's translated from an interview of Team Japan members and where they see themselves in ten years.

“Probably a skating coach in 10 years. My goal is definitely Sochi… after that, my competition days end and I’ll return to a normal life. By normal life, I mean a normal university experience. Up until now, kindergarten, elementary school, junior high, high school… it’s all been skating. School, hanging out with friends, I’ve never been a normal student. So that’s why I really want it. If I’m still skating by the time I graduate university, I’ll never experience that life even once! So when Sochi ends, I want to try to be a regular student. After that, I want to be a skating coach—that’s my ideal life path. But, I still want to do shows, if I do shows, I’ll still be a student as well. Well, whether or not I’ll change my mind about all this, I don’t know (smiles).
But if I don’t make it Sochi, or if I don’t do well there, and I feel there’s more I need to do… maybe I’ll continue competing. If I feel I did what I wanted to do… I’ll probably stop (smiles).” —Kanako Murakami

Thoughts?

I personally think that it's too soon for her to retire, but of course it is her choice. I know it must be hard to find a balance between school and figure skating, and to still have time to enjoy life outside of competing. I doubt that she won't make it to Sochi anyway, so next season really might be her last. :cry:
 

vera01

Final Flight
Joined
Jan 6, 2013
I doubt Japanese fed would want her to retire, unless Mao decides to continue skating until 2018.
 

chuckm

Record Breaker
Joined
Aug 31, 2003
Country
United-States
Sounds to me as if Kanako wants to meet some sort of goal---making it to Sochi, or medaling at Worlds (which she can do if there are retirements after Sochi). Perhaps she's telling the JSF that if she doesn't go to Sochi, she might quit.....

Seeing as the only promising skater beyond Kanako is Miyahara, with her UR problems, that might make the JSF think twice about their plans for Sochi.
 

FSGMT

Record Breaker
Joined
Sep 10, 2012
Without Mao, Miki, Akiko, the level of the Japanese female skating would go down to a really low one if kanako retires... She's way too young!! :cry:
 

sky_fly20

Match Penalty
Joined
Nov 20, 2011
Kanako will probably stay for 2 more years after Sochi, Japan wont have a star lady skater until Marin Honda turns Senior
Miyahara is a flutzer and Underrotater with her tiny jumps.
 

Jtsmith12

On the Ice
Joined
Jun 20, 2011
It would be a shame if Kanako does decide to retire after Sochi. I haven't been keeping up with the Japanese junior ladies or truthfully any one else outside the big 4 ( Mao, Miki, Kanako, and Akiko) if all four of them do retire after Sochi are there any other rising/talented skaters that could feel the void?
 

ForeverFish

Medalist
Joined
Aug 21, 2012
She should stick it out until 2015 or 2016, IMO. After Mao and Akiko retire, Kanako will be the top Japanese lady without a doubt, and that means she'll have a good shot at World medals.

How old is this interview? That might give us some feel of whether of not Kanako still considers this her plan.
 

MaiKatze

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 4, 2012
:cry: I hope she will think about it once more. I think she has the potential to be World Champion at least once in the next quad, and if she is improving and others might slip....even a Sochi Medal could potentially happen. BUT I really respect the decision to not continue even though she is such a talent. I wouldn't want her to miss out on experiences she herself thinks are more important than the stressful life of a top skater. You're only young once and a life of constant practice and sacrifices is hard.
 

Poice

Final Flight
Joined
Mar 29, 2013
How old is this interview? That might give us some feel of whether of not Kanako still considers this her plan.

It seems that it's a new interview - from this year. Mao answered the same question and said that she will be 32 years old.
 
Joined
Aug 16, 2009
Well, I certainly understand her wish to have a life that has been impossible for her up to now. I imagine that university must look so tantalizing to a kid who's never done anything but train. Also, I don't know much about the Japanese university system, but I get the feeling that it's not as chronologically loose as American colleges are. Here, people sometimes go to college or university in their twenties or even later, for various reasons. (They served in the military; they couldn't afford it and had to work for a few years; they are changing careers; or, like Michelle and Sasha, they skated during their teens.) A college or university campus, especially a large one, might have students of many ages. Can someone from Japan enlighten me on how much there is of this kind of age spread in Japanese universities?

I'd love to see Kanako continue, but if she wants to experience the outside world, she should be allowed the luxury of that choice.
 

cinnamon

On the Ice
Joined
Sep 13, 2010
I graduated from a university in Japan a while ago. The age spread of students there used to be - over 95% are 18-22. I believe it's not so much difference between now and then.

Anyway to be a competitive skater needs lots of sacrifice over so many years, and it's daily sacrifice, as getting up at 4 am take the ice, joggling between training and practice... Kanako, in the middle of training for Olympics now, can only work hard by allowing herself to dream "after this I can do whatever I want". She just started to go to the university, has changed her hair color, appeared with pierce earrings in front of the media people (those are two things that highschool girls cannot do in Japan), is exposed to a new world. It doesn't mean for sure she is going to quit after Sochi. When she was younger, at her first Nationals she said she "wanted to be Yamada (her coach), that's why she was skating". (She really loved her coach. So she said she wanted to be Yamada herself. That was her ultimate goal.) Only after seeing Mao at Olympics she got motivated to win, to catch them up. She is such a sweet girl to express her emotions like that, so this time I take her statement as her dream, not as her plan
 

yude

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 28, 2012
Thank you for the information. I have never thought of this was coming...but I totally understand her statement.
I wish her the best in both skating life and private life.(but I will miss her for sure if she retires after Sochi:cry:)
 
Joined
Aug 16, 2009
Thanks for the information about universities in Japan, Cinnamon.

Seeing Kanako's statement as "her dream, not as her plan" seems wise at this moment. Of course, I want all the skaters to stay on past Sochi...but then, I wanted Michelle to stay on! When it comes to skating, realism isn't my strong suit. Skating is what I watch to get away from reality....
 

NMURA

Medalist
Joined
Jul 14, 2010
I think Murakami continues competing at least 2 years after Sochi. Probably she will win the Japanese national title and a world medal. After that, her motivation is in doubt. I don't worry about Miyahara. If she becomes the #1 Japanese lady, her scores will be boosted immediately. There are potential (domestic) rivals though.
 
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