Legendary Japanese gymnast Kōhei Uchimura retires at 33

Legendary gymnast Kōhei Uchimura announced his retirement at the age of 33. The “King Kohei” made the announcement through his management company on Tuesday. The Japanese stalwart bids adieu as one of the greatest male gymnasts the sport has ever seen.

The legendary gymnast wouldn't have wanted to end his career without a medal at the Tokyo Olympics. Unfortunately, in 2019, Uchimura started struggling with his shoulder injuries. On being asked about competing at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics back then, he termed it to be a fairytale.

Uchimura did compete in Tokyo, but it was a bad day for King Kohei, as he fell off the horizontal bar after losing his grip. Within a few seconds, his hopes of winning a medal came down crushing in Tokyo.

"In the last three Olympics I took part in, I was always able to bring out in competition what I practiced, but I can't do that anymore. I'm past my peak. I just have to accept that calmly," said Kohei Uchimura after Tokyo Olympics appearance.

Kōhei Uchimura and his everlasting achievements

Kōhei Uchimura is a Japanese artistic gymnast. He is a seven-time Olympic medalist including all-around, team and floor exercise events. He clinched three gold medals and four silver medals at the Olympics.

After finishing on a high at the 2012 London Olympics, he subsequently carried forward his brilliance in attaining uninterrupted victories at every major competition. Uchimura emerged victorious in all of the Olympics as well as world all-round events between 2009 and 2016.

The three-time Olympic medallist is known for being the first gymnast (male or female) to win every major all-around title in an Olympic cycle.

He became the first ever gymnast to finish on top in the individual all-around event in back-to-back Olympics. He achieved the feat after over four decades of waiting.

Barring his Olympic heroics, Uchimura is also a twenty-one-time world medalist, including all-around, team, floor exercise, horizontal bar, and parallel bars events. He remained on top of his game for over a decade with his unparalleled excellence in men's gymnastics.