The former Olympic and world 400 metres champion Christine Ohuruogu has announced her retirement from athletics.
The 34-year-old, who secured Olympic gold at Beijing 2008, silver in London four years later, and won world titles in 2007 and 2013, had indicated last year that this season would be her last on the track.
And she confirmed on Saturday morning that she was hanging up her spikes, saying in a statement on her website: “Today is the start of the British Championships and, as I won’t be there competing, I feel it is a good time to formally announce my retirement from competitive athletics.”
Now halfway through a law degree at university, she continued: “I didn’t feel ready to retire after last season but a combination of my studies and a niggling injury restricted how much training I was able to do this year.”
Ohuruogu served a 12-month ban from athletics for missing three out-of-competition drugs tests between October 2005 and July 2006, returning just in time to clinch her first outdoor world crown in Osaka in 2007.
A British Olympic Association bylaw meant all doping offences were punishable by lifetime Olympic bans, however, putting her participation in Beijing in doubt. She appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which upheld the suspension but said it believed it was just a case of her being forgetful when the testers arrived. The ban was eventually lifted in November 2007.
The London-born Newham & Essex Beagles club member, who took up athletics in 2001 in a bid to boost her netball skills, looked back fondly at her career. “Athletics has been my passion for so long and I am proud to call myself an athlete,” she said. “I love the diversity of the events and the brilliant characters that come from them. I have truly met some wonderful people over the last 15 years, competing around the world, and I am blessed to call many of them friends.”
Her last major medal came two years ago, when she was part of the 4x400metres relay team which won bronze at the Rio Olympics.