Japanese Olympian Chihiro Igarashi has announced her retirement at the age of 28. She has represented her nation on the elite international level for over 10 years, culminating in appearances at both the 2016 and 2020 Olympic Games.
“I have decided to retire from competition swimming which I have been doing for the past 20 years,” Igarashi said on social media this week.
“My swimming career has been one of climbing the ladder. When I look back on the 20 years since my junior days, countless memories come back to me.”
Igarashi’s first international medal came at the 2012 Junior Pan Pacific Championships where she earned silver in the 200m IM. She went on to specialize in freestyle throughout her career, taking 400m free bronze at the 2016 Short Course World Championships in Windsor.
She also earned 200m and 400m free bronze medals at the 2018 Asian Games and followed up with 4x100m free relay silver at this year’s edition in Hangzhou.
Igarashi was a member of the Tokyo Frog Kings in the International Swimming League (ISL), finishing 134th in the MVP standings with a total of 108.50 points.
With Igarashi now out of the pool, Japan will need to look for a replacement on both the women’s 4x100m free and 4x200m free relays. Nagisa Ikemoto, Kinuko Mochizukiz, Miyu Namba, Waka Kobori and Ruka Takezawa will look to fill the void as we head to the Paris Olympic Games.