Miki Ando Retires After Failing to Secure Olympic Berth

Japanese figure skater Miki Ando announced her retirement after wrapping up the Japanese nationals held in Saitama early this week.

Ando earned 171.12 points -- 64.87 from her short program and 106.25 from the free program -- to finish seventh overall, meaning she failed to secure a berth at the Sochi Olympics in Russia in February.

"Even though I won't be able to compete in the Olympics, I have no regrets in my 17-year skating career. Now I want to devote myself to being a skating coach," Ando said after the competition.

Ando's first Olympic appearance was in 2006 in Torino, where she finished 15th. She came fifth four years later at the Vancouver Winter Games and has two world titles under her belt from 2007 and 2011.

This year, she made headlines by coming back to competitive skating just a few months after giving birth out of wedlock in April. Ando said earlier that she hopes to compete at the 2014 Olympics.