Eric-Radford

Figure skater Eric Radford has announced his retirement.
The Canadian athlete took home gold in team figure skating at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, Seoul, where he performed a beautiful routine to Adele’s Hometown Glory alongside partner Meagan Duhamel.

The achievement made him the first openly gay male athlete to win a gold medal at the Winter Olympics. The pair later earned a bronze medal in the pairs free skating on Thursday, making Eric the first openly gay man to win multiple Olympic medals.

Their free skate also made history when they landed the first ever successful throw quad salchow at an Olympic event.

Despite their success, Meagan and Eric announced their retirement shortly after earning the bronze medal.

“We couldn’t have asked for more from this competition and from ourselves,” Eric told The Star. “We’re going to be able to retire and always look back on our skating career feeling complete and happy.”

Later, sharing a photo of himself and Meagan on Instagram, he wrote: “I couldn’t ask for more in my career. It’s been fun dreaming my wildest dreams and having so many of them come true. Thank you everybody for all of your support.”

Eric’s partner, Meagan, also shared a message on Instagram about their retirement.

“Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is a progress. Working together is success,” she wrote. “We all have magic within us. I’m so lucky to have found someone to share that magic with.”

Elsewhere in figure skating, Team USA’s first ever openly gay athlete to reach the Winter Olympic, Adam Rippon, won bronze in the men’s individual at the Gangneung Ice Arena.

“So proud that [Adam Rippon] and I get to wear these medals and show the world what we can do!” Eric said on Twitter alongside a photo of himself and Adam.

The 2018 Winter Olympics is currently taking place in Pyeongchang, South Korea between 9-25 February.

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