Freestyle moguls skier Aiko Uemura, who narrowly missed out on an elusive medal in her fifth consecutive Winter Games in Sochi in February, said she was able to enjoy a "happy career" at her retirement news conference on Tuesday.
"I was able to compete with my heart and soul and had a happy career," said Uemura, who failed to medal but finished in the top eight in all five Olympic competitions starting with her debut in Nagano in 1998.
"Nagano was the first Olympics I wanted to compete in and I realized my dream," said the 34-year-old, who placed seventh, sixth, fifth, fourth and fourth in that order in her five appearances.