Photo By Sponichi
On the 30th, Natsumi Tsunoda (33, SBC Shonan Beauty Clinic), a gold medalist in women’s judo at the 48 kg division at the Paris Olympics, held a press conference in Urayasu City, Chiba Prefecture titled “Me so far, Me from now on” and announced her intention to retire from the front line. He has also submitted a notice to the All Japan Judo Federation to decline the training designation.
Appearing in a judo uniform, he said, “I thought that I would still be able to compete when the Paris (Olympic Games) were over.I participated in the competition in February last year because I wanted to compete with a gold bib.However, I still couldn’t get motivated, and once I stepped away from competition, I wondered what I thought about myself.” I thought I was going to retire.When I played the Grand Slam in Tokyo last year, I didn’t think I wanted to stand on that stage again.Once I realized that I was suffering too, I realized that it would be difficult for me to participate in the next tournament.”
Regarding the future, he said, “I want to travel around the country and teach judo classes.People around me say that there are no people who bloom this late, so I think I can convey to children that they can make their dreams come true even if it’s not an elite course for athletes.”
Born in Yachiyo City, Chiba Prefecture, Tsunoda began judo at the age of 8 and was active at Yachiyo High School and Tokyo Gakugei University. Initially, his main competition was in the 52kg weight class, but he moved to the 48kg weight class towards the end of the competition for the Tokyo Olympics. Armed with tomoe throwing and joint techniques, he has won three consecutive world championships since 2021. In his first appearance at the 2024 Paris Olympics, he won the gold medal at the age of 31 years and 11 months, making him the oldest person in Japanese judo history. Since then, his appearances on TV and events have rapidly increased, and he has become a national star, and has also been active in promoting judo.
After the Paris Olympics, she participated in the Grand Slam (GS) Baku tournament in February last year and the All Japan Championship, which is an open weight competition, in April of the same year. As for leaving the job, he continued to worry about it, saying, “Every day is changing rapidly.I want to think about it while asking myself questions.” In December of last year, some media outlets reported that he was retiring against his will, but immediately afterward, he completely denied the false news by saying on his social media, “I have not made a final decision yet.Originally, I had planned to deliver the first words from my mouth, but I am very sorry that the reports got ahead of me and my feelings that I could not express in words were spread in a different form.”
At a press conference on the same day, he explained his interpretation of retirement, saying, “Retirement for me means not aiming for the top, which is the Olympics.For me, retirement means stepping back from the front line.I can’t aim for the Los Angeles Olympics with a half-hearted attitude.” “I love judo, so I want to practice, and if I want to compete, I want to compete.I don’t think retirement means taking off my judo uniform,” he said.
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