Japanese figure skating ice dance pair Daisuke Takahashi and Kana Muramoto announced their retirement from competition Monday.

Takahashi, 37, and Muramoto, 30, equaled the best finish by a Japanese ice dance pair at a world championships when they placed 11th at Saitama Super Arena near Tokyo in March. They will hold a press conference on Tuesday.

Japanese ice dancers Kana Muramoto (R) and Daisuke Takahashi perform their rhythm dance at the world figure skating championships at Saitama Super Arena in the eastern Japan city of Saitama on March 24, 2023. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

They had not clarified their future following their final outing of the season at the World Team Trophy in April in Tokyo.

Takahashi won the men's singles Olympic bronze at the 2010 Vancouver Games before becoming the first Japanese world champion the same year. The Okayama Prefecture native quit the sport in 2014 but returned in 2018 before transitioning from singles to ice dance in 2020.

Hyogo Prefecture native Muramoto made one Olympic appearance in ice dance at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games.


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