World championship silver medalist Megumi Tachimoto is retiring from competition, her sponsor announced Tuesday.
Tachimoto, who competed in the open weight class early in her career before moving to the over-78-kg category, said she would stay involved in judo "in some form."
"Thanks to the many people who supported me, I was able to continue competing in judo while giving my all," Tachimoto, 29, said.
An eight-time Judo Grand Slam winner, Tachimoto achieved her best-ever world championship result with silver in the over-78-kg competition in Astana, Kazakhstan, in 2015.
But injury prevented her from competing at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, where her younger sister Haruka won gold in the 70-kg competition.
A native of Toyama Prefecture, Tachimoto also took the over-78 bronze at the 2014 worlds in Chelyabinsk, Russia, and in 2013 in Rio. She captured open weight bronze at the 2010 worlds in Tokyo and in 2008 in Levallois-Perret, France.
