Publication Date:
Sat, 2010-03-06 14:50
The 1998 Nagano Olympic gold medallist brought the curtain down on a record-breaking career after failing to qualify for the Vancouver Games.
"Even if I had competed in Vancouver I wouldn't have been able to challenge for the medals," the 36-year-old told Saturday's Sankei Sports.
Shimizu stormed to gold in the men's 500 meters in Nagano and took bronze in the 1,000m. The pint-sized speedster also captured a silver medal at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics and won five world titles in the 500m between 1996 and 2001.
"I was under intense pressure to win in Nagano," said a tearful Shimizu, who broke the 500m world record four times in a glittering career. "Overcoming that pressure to win gold was an achievement it will be impossible to top."
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