Despite saying she will retire from professional volleyball at the end of the season, the captain of the Japanese National Team in the 2016 Rio Olympics, decided to do it in the mid-season.
Toray Arrows member Kimura played her last competitive game on Sunday, March 5, against NEC Red Rockets 1-3 (25-20, 26-28, 22-25, 15-25) in the Top 6 of the V-League, being forced to leave the floor due to cramps.
A 30-year-old receiver Kimura competed at last for Olympic Games, taking the bronze medal in London in 2012. She also won bronze in the 2010 FIVB World Championship. On a club level, she grabbed CEV Champions League title once, 4 national titles in Japan and one in Turkey, two trophies in the Emperor’s Cup and one in the Turkish Cup. Individually, she was awarded MVP of the Japanese League one time.
It is expected that Kimura holds a press conference in the coming days to reveal the reasons for her retiring.
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