"Worked as a Hostess After Retirement"... Japan Shocked by the Current Status of Former Two-Time Olympic Gymnast

Japanese Gymnastics Prodigy Nijiko Tsurumi

Reveals Struggling to Make Ends Meet by Working in Nightlife Industry After Retirement

Now Devoted to Gymnastics Education and Idol Training Business

Former Japanese national gymnast Nijiko Tsurumi. Instagram capture

Former Japanese national gymnastics team member Nijiko Tsurumi (33), once celebrated as a 'genius girl,' has shocked the country by revealing that she worked at an entertainment establishment after retirement. Despite an illustrious career—competing in two consecutive Olympic Games and winning six consecutive All-Japan Championships—she faced severe financial hardships and cold social attitudes after retiring. Her story goes beyond a personal misstep, with many seeing it as a stark revelation of the harsh realities faced by Japan’s elite athletes.

'Genius Girl' Who Dominated the All-Japan Championships... Harsh Reality After Injury-Induced Retirement

According to the Japanese media outlet Chanto on July 22, Nijiko Tsurumi was a star athlete in Japanese gymnastics. She won her first All-Japan Championship in 2006 at the age of 14 and went on to win six consecutive titles until 2011. She also represented Japan at both the 2008 Beijing Olympics and 2012 London Olympics. However, a torn Achilles tendon in 2015 forced her to retire from competition at the early age of 23.

After devoting 18 years to gymnastics, Tsurumi encountered formidable barriers in society. Hoping to become a coach, she joined a venture company and took part in founding a gymnastics school, but the salary was so low that she could not support herself, leading her to leave the job soon after. For about five years, she had to get by with various part-time jobs, including working at restaurants and distributing tissues and flyers on the street.

Reflecting on that time, Tsurumi shared, "When I was handing out flyers on the street, having once been an Olympic athlete, I was tormented by self-doubt, wondering if things would have been different had I studied hard and gotten into a good university instead of focusing on gymnastics." She added, "Even national athletes with specialized expertise are undervalued by society after retirement, simply because all we did was sports. I felt a deep sense of crisis over a reality where instead of inspiring the next generation, we could hardly make a living."

"I Wanted to Learn Success"... Why She Chose to Work in the Entertainment Industry

Determined to start a business, Tsurumi took a bold step by working in the nightlife industry. She believed that such establishments offered a practical environment to meet successful entrepreneurs and executives, allowing her to learn management know-how and build connections.

However, the journey was far from easy. She recalled, "I interviewed at more than 10 venues in Roppongi but was rejected by all of them. At 27, being a former athlete with no regular customers, the nightlife world was unforgiving." Over the course of a year, she gradually built up her clientele and eventually expanded her activities from Roppongi to Ginza.

Former Japanese national gymnastics team member Nijiko Tsurumi. Instagram capture

In the beginning, she was deeply concerned about damaging her image. "I worried what might happen if this became public," she said, "but my desire to learn directly from business leaders was stronger, because I couldn’t start a business otherwise."

Leaving the Nightlife Industry for a New Life... "I Won’t Pass on This Harsh Reality to the Next Generation"

Now, Tsurumi has left the nightlife industry entirely and runs a gymnastics education business while also training aspiring idols. By incorporating idol-like elements into gymnastics, she aims to boost the popularity of this underappreciated sport and has set her sights on reforming the chronic low-wage structure entrenched in the gymnastics world.

She said, "If even Olympic athletes aren’t guaranteed a stable life after retirement, there’s no future for the next generation," adding, "In such an environment, simply continuing to develop athletes is too harsh." She stressed the urgent need to improve the systemic foundations of the sports industry and to establish institutional support for retired athletes, vowing not to pass on the trials and suffering she experienced to her juniors.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.