Figure Skating

Shoma Uno Retires From Competition After Illustrious Career

Two-time world champion Shoma Uno retires with three Olympic medals, a record-tying six Japan men's singles titles and a Grand Prix Final gold medal.

by
Jack Gallagher
May 10, 2024

Two-time world champion and three-time Olympic medalist Shoma Uno announced his retirement from competition in a message on Instagram on Thursday, May 9.

"At this time, I have made the decision to retire as an active player," Uno wrote. "I would like to thank everyone who has supported me as a competitor until today."

The 26-year-old Uno expressed his gratitude for what was a fabulous run on the ice.

"I discovered skating when I was five years old, and I'm very grateful that I was able to continue skating for 21 years and have a wonderful competitive life," he wrote.

The Nagoya native added that he would have a retirement press conference on Tuesday, May 14.

Uno's retirement does not come as a complete surprise. After his disappointing fourth-place finish at the world championships in Montreal in March, he indicated that he was undecided about competing for another season.

Uno has dealt with injuries the past few campaigns, and that along with the young crop of skaters who have emerged on the scene in US world champion Ilia Malinin, compatriots Yuma Kagiyama, Kao Miura and Shun Sato, and France's Adam Siao Him Fa signaled that the time was right to bow out.

With nearly two years remaining until the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy, Uno also recognized that was going to be a bridge too far, which no doubt contributed to his decision.

*Two-time world champion Shoma Uno (©SANKEI)*

Shoma Uno Career Highlights

Performing in the shadow of the legendary Yuzuru Hanyu for much of his career, Uno won world titles in 2022 and 2023, along with Olympic medals at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games (silver) and 2022 Beijing Games (bronze in singles, silver in team competition). In the last seven world championships, dating back to 2017, Uno finished fourth or better in all of them.

Uno was a six-time Japan champion and a winner at the Grand Prix Final (where he earned a total of six medals in all) and the Four Continents. He was also the gold medalist at the World Junior Figure Skating Championships in 2015 and the Junior GP Final the same season.

Author: Jack Gallagher

The author is a veteran sports journalist and one of the world's foremost figure skating experts. Find articles and podcasts by Jack on his author page, and find him on X (formerly Twitter) @sportsjapan.