Naoko Takahashi's Statement From Her Retirement Press Conference

http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20081028-00000509-sanspo-spo
and NHK 6:00 News broadcast, 10/28/08

translated and edited by Brett Larner

On the afternoon of Oct. 28, Sydney Olympic marathon gold medalist and former world record holder Takahashi gave a press conference at Tokyo's Grand Prince Hotel to announce her retirement. A portion of Takahashi's statement follows.

"Hello, I am Naoko Takahashi. I planned to run the Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka International Women's Marathons but have to give it up. To the fans, staff and sponsors who supported me I offer my sincerest apologies. I had this goal to run these three races as a thank you or goodbye to everyone but now I find that I've spent everything my body has, that I've done all I can and am left with just a peaceful feeling. It's not that something happened, I just can't do the kind of training I need in order to stand in front of you all as the Pro Naoko Takahashi, the kind of running I can be proud of, anymore. I don't want to just show up and run badly anymore either. The years when I won the Olympics and set the world record were
like a typhoon, and now the typhoon has passed and there is just a gentle breeze blowing. I love running and will keep going into my 50's and 60's, but from now on it'll be as the 'Jogger' Naoko Takahashi."

Asked whether leaving her coach Yoshio Koide at her peak had been a mistake, Takahashi replied, "It wasn't that big a deal. I thought about retiring when I left him, but I would have retired earlier if I hadn't left."