Tokyo (AFP) - Former world champion figure skater Daisuke Takahashi said Sunday he would return to the ice at the age of 32, ending his four-year retirement after his compatriot Yuzuru Hanyu clinched the Olympic gold in both Sochi and Pyeongchang.
Takahashi had retired from competition after placing sixth in the 2014 Sochi Olympics, but said he had changed his mind after being inspired by younger athletes at last year's contest, which he watched from the sidelines as a television commentator.
The experience "made me realize that I want to fight and skate again in such tensed environment", he said in an English-language statement.
One of Japan's most admired athletes, Takahashi dazzled judges and fans with his brilliant step and spin sequences, and is credited with bringing Japanese male singles skating to world prominence.
Takahashi became the first Japanese male figure skater to win an Olympic medal with his bronze in the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.
He also became the world champion in 2010 and won the ISU Grand Prix Final in 2012.
Relatively short at 1.65 metres (5 feet 5 inches), Takahashi competed with foreign stars such as Evgeni Plushenko of Russia and Stephane Lambiel of Switzerland as well as his compatriot and two-time Olympic champion Hanyu, who became the first Japanese male figure skater to win Olympic gold.
Takahashi reached the peak of his career after tearing ligaments in his right knee that forced him to miss the 2008-2009 season.
He finished sixth in the Sochi Olympics, won by Hanyu, effectively handing over the mantle of the sport to his young rival.
After the 2014 Sochi Games, Takahashi was diagnosed with chronic joint inflammation in his right knee, and retired in October of that year.
