Kohei Uchimura Retires: Japanese Gymnast Releases An NFT Collection

Japanese gymnastics legend, Kohei Uchimura has released an NFT collection to commemorate his retirement. The NFTs will serve as means for Uchimura to realise his aspirations, even after retirement. Besides, the NFTs will represent some of the athlete’s best moments and memories. Acclaimed artist and illustrator, Dai Tamura has designed the first NFT in the collection.

Kohei Uchimura x Dai Tamura: All you need to know

Called ‘Memorial Art of Gymnastics Legend’, the NFT depicts the Kohei Uchimura’s moment of landing. In the artwork, Tamura has tried to capture how Uchimura “wowed his audience” with his landings throughout his career. By immortalising the last moment of his performance, the NFT aims to remind fans of Uchimura’s many achievements and accolades.

Moreover, in the background, Tamura has sketched several movements from Uchimura’s performance when he won his World Gymnastics Championships title in 2014. This was his fifth consecutive championship win. Besides, the work features contrasting elements—while some are still, others are in movement. 

“I thought that gymnastics was only possible when you can do six apparatus rotations, but what particularly impressed everyone watching, including myself, was the moment when I landed perfectly from the bar,” said Kohei Uchimura. “The posture of the landing and the new moon somersault of the stretching body are the things I have been particular about and have been working on…I can only thank you [Tamura] for turning my obsession into a piece of NFT art.”

The auction for the limited edition NFT from Kohei Uchimura is currently live on OpenSea. The bid starts at 12.5 ETH (about $36,000). Additionally, a part of the proceeds will support “Never Stop Playing Sports”, an organization where top athletes support student-athletes.