In an hour-long news conference in Tokyo on Tuesday where he seemed pensive and relieved, the 27-year-old shunned the word “retirement”, saying he looked forward to pushing his skills to an even higher level on a different stage.

“I thought of quitting a lot of times, after every competition, after PyeongChang too,” Hanyu said, referring to the 2018 Winter Games where he won a second consecutive gold.

Wearing a dark suit and silver tie, Hanyu said he finally came to a decision after this year’s Beijing Olympics, where, having sustained an ankle injury during practice, he fell short of his goal of winning a third gold and finished fourth.

It was the end of a storied competition career for the man considered one of the greatest skaters of all time – a run that also included two world championship wins, four Grand Prix final crowns and six victories at the Japan nationals.

“I thought of many things” while my ankle was healing, he told a packed news conference. “And I thought, I don’t need to be on this stage; I can get better in a different way.”

A skating phenomenon known for his artistry and devoted fans, Hanyu said he saw the next stage of his skating career as a beginning, not an end.

Hanyu added that he would continue to pursue the quadruple Axel, or “4A” – a 4-1/2-rotation jump never before landed by anyone in competition.