Japanese swim star Kosuke Kitajima, who has pulled off the Olympic breaststroke double for the second straight time, says he intends to retire after the Beijing Games.
‘I am competing here with that on mind,’ the 25-year-old told Japanese reporters about the possibility of his retirement after winning the 200m race on Thursday following his 100m triumph in world-record time.
Kitajima may well race in the last major event of his career when he takes part in the 4x100m medley relay on Sunday.
His shock comment came after his coach Norimasa Hirai said tearfully: ‘I was watching and thinking to myself that this may be the last time I see him swim flat out in the 200m,’ the Sports Hochi reported.
‘By coaching Kosuke, I have felt like I am back in my younger days again. I have been happy,’ Hirai, 45, added.
‘Inside myself, I feel it's over,’ Kitajima was quote as saying by the Yomiuri Shimbun. ‘I have taken it one last time and the results have made my team and my coach happy.’
Kitajima's Olympian challenge started when he finished fourth in the 100m at the 2000 Sydney Games, the best finish for a Japanese male swimmer at that time.
His first world-class victory came at the 2002 Pan-Pacific championships when he won the 100m, followed by double gold medals at the 2002 Asian Games and at the 2003 world championships.
