'Gymnastics genius' turned hostess: Japanese Olympian opens up about life after retirement

A Japanese women's gymnastics national team member once hailed as a "genius" has revealed she worked as a hostess at a nightlife establishment after retiring from the sport.

The athlete is Tsurumi Nijiko, 33. She won the Japanese national championship for the first time at age 14, went on to claim six consecutive national titles, and represented Japan at both the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the 2012 London Olympics. Known as a "prodigy," she retired in 2015 at 23 after suffering an Achilles tendon injury.

In an interview with Japanese outlet Chanto published Wednesday, she said "the reality after retirement was beyond what I had imagined," adding, "I couldn't believe an Olympic athlete could be this destitute."

Feeling she had "done enough gymnastics," Tsurumi chose not to pursue a coaching career and instead took on a series of part-time jobs while searching for work that suited her.

Working at a restaurant, assisting a lawmaker's secretary and doing basic office work, she said she began to wish she had studied harder and gone to a better university instead of focusing on gymnastics — and that she wanted to try running a business. Those thoughts ultimately led her to want to meet and learn from successful people, which drew her to working at a nightlife venue.

"I worked at a hostess club to meet successful people in the most efficient way possible," Tsurumi said. "At the time, I was not very old and had almost no money. It was difficult for me to attend gatherings where business owners congregated."

She said she interviewed at more than 10 establishments in Roppongi but was rejected by all of them, adding that "the nightlife world was harsh to a 27-year-old retired athlete with no regular clients." She spent a year steadily building up a clientele in Roppongi before moving on to Ginza.

"At first I was worried and anxious that articles might come out saying I was working in the nightlife industry," Tsurumi said. "But my desire to learn was strong — I knew I couldn't run a business without talking to and learning from business owners." She added that the people she met during that period have been a great source of support since she started her own business.

Tsurumi now runs a gymnastics school and is also developing idol talent. She does not, however, train elite competitive athletes. "The support system for Olympic athletes after retirement is simply not in place," she said. "In that situation, it would be too cruel to raise athletes for that path."