Jessica Ennis-Hill retires: Former Olympic gold medallist announces her retirement from athletics

Ennis-Hill won heptathlon gold at London 2012 and added a silver medal at Rio 2016 this summer

Jessica Ennis-Hill has announced her retirement from athletics after admitting she wants to “leave my sport on a high”, having won her second Olympic heptathlon medal at Rio 2016 this summer.

Announcing the news on her Instagram page, the 30-year-old revealed that her success in Rio, combined with her gold medal performance at London 2012, means that she can bow out at the top of the sport after spending seven years as one of the leading athletes in the world.

Having returned to competition after giving birth to her son, Reggie, in 2014, Ennis-Hill went on to win gold at the 2015 World Championships, and took silver at this year’s Olympic Games behind Belgium’s Nafissatou Thiam.

In her post, Ennis-Hill said: “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.”

Speaking immediately after claiming silver in Rio, Ennis-Hill hinted that it would be her last competitive appearance, although the prospect of the World Championships at home in London next year did make her consider delaying her retirement by another year. However, Ennis-Hill clearly feels that the time is right to hang up her spikes, meaning that Great Britain’s heptathlon hopes will pass on to 23-year-old Katarina Johnson-Thompson, who has already received the backing of Ennis-Hill to go on and emulate her success on the world stage.

Ennis-Hill calls time on her career having won both the Olympics and World Championships – the latter of which twice in 2009 and 2015 – as well as the European Championships in 2010. On top of her gold medals, Ennis-Hill has an Olympic silver from Rio, World Championships silver in 2011 and a bronze medal at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in 2006 when she announced her arrival as a genuine contender in the heptathlon.

Ennis-Hill also has a gold and silver medal from the World Indoor Championships in 2010 and 2012 respectively.

Her former Olympic teammate Kelly Sotherton, who won bronze at the 2004 Olympic Games in the heptathlon, was quick to pay tribute to Ennis-Hill, having taken on Britain’s hopes in the discipline after Sotherton bowed out at the 2008 Games.

“It's sad to hear that @J_Ennis has retired before @London2017. She has achieved the pinnacle of sport & is a fabulous role model for anyone,” Sotherton wrote on Twitter.