Jessica Ennis-Hill has announced her retirement from athletics.
The 30-year-old won Olympic gold in the heptathlon at London 2012 and silver at Rio 2016, and is a two-time world champion.
Ennis-Hill released a statement on her Instagram account saying it was “one of the toughest decisions” she has faced but “retiring now is right”.
The Sheffield athlete, who is also a two-time world champion, competed in Rio just two years after the birth of her son Reggie.
“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,” she wrote on Instagram.
“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”
Sheffield-born Ennis-Hill had taken time out between the Games to have son Reggie, missing the 2014 Commonwealth Games, and did hint about retirement immediately after winning silver in Brazil.
“It’s going to be a tough decision, I’m going to go away and think about it,” she told the BBC at time time. “At this moment, I’m tired and emotional, it’s a big decision.”
She returned after the birth of her son in July 2014 to win the World Athletics Championships in Beijing last year having already achieved the qualifying standard for Rio.
It was her second world heptathlon title after winning in Berlin in 2009 while she also claimed silver two years later.
Ennis-Hill’s senior breakthrough came in 2006 when she won bronze at her only Commonwealth Games – finishing behind winner and team-mate Kelly Sotherton – while she also won gold at the 2010 European Championships and the World Indoor Pentathlon title the same year.
The victories were part of her dominance of the sport between 2009 and 2012 ahead of glory at London 2012.
She won the 100 metres hurdles before coming sixth in high jump and 10th in shot put. A personal best of 22.83 seconds saw her second in the 200 metres and Ennis-Hill was also second in the long jump before throwing 47.49 metres, a personal best, in the javelin to finish 10th and put her on the brink of the title.
She completed victory with a season’s best of two minutes and eight seconds in the 800metres to win the race and the Olympic crown.
