'Flying Dutchwoman' sprint queen Schippers retires

September 26, 2023 09:15 PM

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Two-time world sprint champion Dafne Schippers, known as the "Flying Dutchwoman", announced her retirement at the age of 31 on Tuesday, saying she was hanging up her spikes "without regret".

Schippers won 200m gold at the world championships in Beijing in 2015 and London in 2017. She narrowly missed out on 200m Olympic gold in Rio, pipped at the line by Jamaica's Elaine Thompson-Herah.

"The race stops here," Schippers wrote on Instagram.

"Today, I have decided to take my life off track to pursue and embrace whatever comes next," she added.

Schippers had been blighted by injury in her later career and her last competitive medal came when she won silver in the 60m at the 2019 European indoor championships.

Her time of 21.63sec in Beijing remains a European record and makes her the sixth fastest performer in history.

"As an athlete, you always know this day will come, that at one point, your career will be a moment in time, a collection of memories and hopefully medals," Schippers said.