Uchimura has won at least one medal in every world championships and Olympic Games since 2008 except in 2017 where he injured his left ankle after only finishing 3 out of 6 routines in the individual all-around qualifier at the 2017 World Championships, which abruptly ended his 8-year win streak in a two-full-Olympic-cycle reign as world and Olympic champion, and "withdrew" (WD) from the event. In his 2018 return, Uchimura had yet to fully regain his previous top form and winning ways in terms of fitness level and preparation. Also, his results at the 2018 World Championships reflected that as he competed a reduced schedule, and in only one individual event final, he did however contribute several routines to team Japan’s final score, which won him bronze in team and silver in individual horizontal bar event finals. However, Uchimura’s Olympic winning streak was similarly uncertain due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused postponement of the Games for a year.