Going out on top isn’t always easy

Other sports stars who retired surprisingly early: BJORN BORG Borg retired at the start of 1983 at age 26. Considered one of the greatest tennis players of all time, the Swede won Wimbledon five times in a row and also claimed six French Opens. ROCKY MARCIANO Marciano had been the world heavyweight boxing champion for four years and won all 49 of his fights — 43 by knockout — when he retired in 1956 at the age of 32. The American wanted to spend more time with his family. He died 13 years later in a plane crash. MARCO VAN BASTEN Van Basten won three Ballon d’Or titles and two European Cups as well as the European soccer championship with the Netherlands in a glittering career that was cut short by injury at 28. He went on to a career in management, coaching Ajax and the Netherlands among others. LORENA OCHOA Ochoa was the top-ranked female golfer when she announced her retirement in 2010 at age 28 to start a family. Two years after the retirement of Annika Sorenstam at age 37, the LPGA was robbed of another of its biggest names. JUSTINE HENIN The seven-time Grand Slam winner was still No. 1 in the WTA rankings when she shocked the world of tennis with the news of her retirement at age 25 in 2008. Before Henin, no reigning No. 1 had retired from the women’s game. But the break did not last long. She returned 20 months later and reached the 2010 Australian Open final, then quit for good in January 2011 because of a lingering elbow injury. MAGIC JOHNSON The Lakers point guard called it quits on Nov. 7, 1991 after he found out he was HIV positive. The NBA great was 32 when he retired after 12 seasons as a Laker, but did not stay away for long. He was the MVP of the 1992 all-star game and won gold at the Barcelona Olympics before briefly coaching the Lakers in 1994 and returning to the court for 32 games in 1996, then calling it quits for good.