Two-time former world figure skating champion Miki Ando, who gave birth to a baby girl in April, has asked the media to respect her privacy as she continues her preparations to return to competition for the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.
Appearing at her first news conference since revealing in an exclusive TV Asahi interview in July that she had become a mother, Ando called on the media to stop hounding her in her daily affairs.
The 25-year-old also said she has no plans on revealing who the father is.
"I am followed even when I go shopping, and I can't even have a normal daily life," Ando said at a Yokohama hotel Monday. "I'm a human being just like anyone else and I have my own concerns, so please stop.
"I have to respect (the father's) family too, so you will not hear any announcement from me on who (the father) is."
As for juggling the two tasks of competing and child-rearing, Ando said, "Right now, it's about half-and-half. When I come home tired and have worries, she's (my daughter) always there, which helps me push myself to fight."
Ando, who split with Russian coach Nikolai Morozov after winning her second world title in 2011, has missed all major competitions for the past two seasons.
She returned to Japan on Thursday from training in the United States and has completed the choreography for her short and free programs for the coming season.
