Husband and wife Rio medallists retire on the same day
Ashton Eaton and his wife Brianne Theisen-eaton, each of whom won athletics medals at Rio 2016, have both announced their retirements.
Eaton, who broke his own world points record in the decathlon to capture his second world title at Beijing in 2015, last summer defended the Olympic decathlon title he first won at London 2012.
The 28-year-old American said: “It’s my time to depart from athletics; to do something new. Frankly there isn’t much more I want to do in sport. I gave the most physically robust years of my life to the discovery and pursuit of my limits in this domain.”
Theisen-eaton, also 28, earned a bronze medal in the heptathlon at last year’s Games, finishing behind winner Nafissatou Thiam and runner-up Jessica Ennis-hill, to add to two world championship silvers and a 2014 Commonwealth Games gold.
The Canadian said in a statement alongside her husband’s on their official website: “I no longer have the passion for track and field or the heptathlon that I used to because I know I can’t advance any further in the sport; I’ve given it all I can, and I refuse to come back and half-ass it because I love and respect this event and sport too much.
“With that, I’ve decided to retire. It’s time to move on to my next passion, the next thing in the world I hope to make an impact in.”