Nao Kodaira

Nao Kodaira is a Japanese former long track speed skater who specialised in the sprint distances, born on 26 May 1986. She graduated from Shinshu University in 2009 with a degree in education. She won silver in the team pursuit at the 2010 Winter Olympics, and at the 2017 World Single Distance Championships she became the first Japanese woman to win an individual world title, taking the 500 metres; she also won the 2017 World Sprint Championships. At the 2018 Winter Olympics she won the 500 metres in an Olympic record, the first woman to break 37 seconds at sea level and the first Japanese woman to win Olympic gold in speed skating, and took silver in the 1000 metres. She announced her retirement in April 2022.