British Athlete Jessica Ennis-Hill Announces Her Retirement

After winning gold at the London Olympics in 2012 and, sadly, not managing to repeat such success at Rio earlier this year, it was rumoured that Jessica Ennis-Hill would retire. Today, she’s made the announcement confirming that she is stepping away from the track for good.

In a statement, she said:

“Amazing memories…f rom my first world title in Berlin 2009 to Rio 2016 I’m so fortunate to have had such an amazing career within the sport I love and this has been one of the toughest decisions I’ve had to make. But I know that retiring now is right. I’ve always said I want to leave my sport on a high and have no regrets and I can truly say that. I want to thank my family and incredible team who have spent so much of their time supporting me and enabling me to achieve my dreams. Also a huge thank you to all those people who have supported and followed my career over the years x.”

Amazing memories…from my first world title in Berlin 2009 to Rio 2016 I’m so fortunate to have had such an amazing career within the sport I love and this has been one of the toughest decisions I’ve had to make. But I know that retiring now is right. I’ve always said I want to leave my sport on a high and have no regrets and I can truly say that. I want to thank my family and incredible team who have spent so much of their time supporting me and enabling me to achieve my dreams. Also a huge thank you to all those people who have supported and followed my career over the years x

A photo posted by Jessica Ennis-Hill (@jessicaennishill) on Oct 13, 2016 at 1:17am PDT

Ennis-Hill, a mum to son Reggie, who was born in 2014, first made headlines following her winning performance in the heptathlon in Berlin back in 2009. She went on to win another gold at the European Championships in Barcelona the following year before becoming the ‘poster girl’ for the London Olympics of 2012, winning gold on the day that was hailed by the British press as “Super Saturday.”

British Athletics described her as “phenomenal”, adding:

“And that’s without considering the challenges of returning from pregnancy to win world gold and Olympic silver.”

Social media was also inundated with messages of support for the unbelievable athlete.

Are you sad to see Ennis-Hill retiring? What are your favorite memories of her? Share your thoughts with us in the comments!