Adam Rippon retires from professional figure skating
NEW YORK, NY – MAY 23: Adam Rippon visits the Build Series to discuss ‘Dancing with The Stars: Athletes’ at Build Studio on May 23, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images)
US Olympian Adam Rippon is effectively retiring from figure skating.
Rippon told CBS News that he will no longer skate competitively.
The star, who recently celebrating his 29th birthday, made the revelation when he took part in CBS News’ #NoteToSelf series.
Monday in our #NoteToSelf series, Olympian @Adaripp reflects on his figure skating career, struggling with self-acceptance and becoming a role model.
Watch on @CBS 7-9 a.m. pic.twitter.com/cxUmHBOVTR
— CBS This Morning (@CBSThisMorning) November 18, 2018
He wrote a letter to himself from “future” Adam, in which the skater mentioned he had recently been rejected from the US Olympic team.
Adam Rippon: “Be proud of yourself”
“You are going through a really tough time right now,” Rippon told himself.
“You’ve just missed qualifying for the Olympic team for the second time in a row.
“You’ve become the role model that you wished you’d had as a kid.”
—Adam Rippon
“You feel confused and you feel like a failure. It might not make sense right now, but this is truly one of the most important moments in your life.”
Adam Rippon speaks at a rally calling on Sen. Jeff Flake to reject Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court on October 1, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Scott Eisen/Getty)
Rippon added that he should “take a moment and be proud of yourself.”
He then highlighted how hard he had trained growing up, including how, aged 13, he travelled by bus “from Scranton to Philadelphia every Monday morning.”
Adam Rippon is the role model he wanted as a kid
The skater explained how he became a national champion aged 26 and how he went on to overcome a foot injury.
Rippon added: “Not that long ago, you had so little money that sometimes you had to choose whether you paid for groceries or paid for ice time.”
The star finished his letter by saying that he is proud of who he is.
“You are a man now. You’ve challenged yourself and taken risks,” he said.
“You make people around you laugh, and help them like who they are. You’ve become the role model that you wished you’d had as a kid.”
He added: “Now go out and conquer the world.”
Rippon recently shared a heartwarming photo with his boyfriend Finnish-born realtor, Jussi-Pekka Kajaala.
The US ice skater, who is the first openly gay person to win Dancing with the Stars, uploaded the snap on Wednesday (November 14).
Rippon simply posted a series of emojis alongside the photo.
“ ♂️ ♂️ ,” he wrote
The star revealed in May that he is moving in with his boyfriend Finnish-born realtor Jussi-Pekka Kajaala.
Rippon met his boyfriend on Tinder while at a skating competition in Finland last year.
