Japan's Nao Kodaira wrapped up her storied speedskating career Saturday by winning her eighth straight women's 500 meters at the national single distance championships in her native Nagano Prefecture.
The 36-year-old, the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympic 500-meter champion, clocked 37.49 seconds at the M-Wave ice arena in Nagano that was packed with a home crowd of 6,085 eager to witness her last hurrah and her 13th career national 500 title.
In a surprising display for someone about to retire from competition, Kodaira showed great cornering ability as well as tenacity in the final stretch to better her time from last season's opening event.