Japan's Nao Kodaira wrapped up her storied speed skating career Saturday by winning her eighth straight women's 500 meters at the national single distance championships in her native Nagano Prefecture.The 36-year-old, the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympic 500-meter champion, clocked 37.49 seconds at the M-Wave ice arena in Nagano that was packed with a home crowd of 6,085 eager to witness her last hurrah and her 13th career national 500 title.In a surprising display for someone about to retire from competition, Kodaira showed great cornering ability as well as tenacity in the final stretch to better…READ FULL ARTICLE
