Kaori Sakamoto said at her retirement news conference in Kobe that she had recently married, adding a personal note to the end of one of Japanese figure skating’s most decorated careers. The 26-year-old said she registered the marriage on May 5.

“This is a personal matter, but I got married recently,” Sakamoto said at the event. She said her husband is the same age as her, is not connected to figure skating and that the two met while she was in university.

The announcement came during the retirement news conference itself, turning a routine sports farewell into a more intimate moment for one of Japan’s best-known skaters. The Japan Times has described Sakamoto as one of Japanese figure skating’s most decorated stars, and her words on Tuesday in Kobe gave fans a glimpse of the life she was building away from the rink.

What mattered in the room was not only that she was stepping away from competition, but that she chose that moment to say she had married recently. The timeline was clear: they met while she was a university student, she registered the marriage on May 5, and she disclosed it publicly only as she marked the end of her competitive career.

That choice leaves little mystery about the next chapter. Sakamoto has closed her skating career with a retirement announcement and, at the same time, made public that she has begun married life.