Czech javelin world record holder Barbora Spotakova announced her retirement from the sport on Friday, the Czech Athletics Federation said in a statement.
The 41-year-old, two-time Olympic champion, set the world record in the women’s javelin throw in Stuttgart in 2008 with 72.28 meters.
She recently competed in a Diamond League event in Zurich, where she finished fifth.
“My body was clearly telling me it was time to stop,” Spotakova said.
Spotakova won her first gold at the 2008 Beijing Games and defended her title in London four years later. She is one of two women to have won more than one Olympic gold in the javelin. She won bronze at the Rio 2016 Games.
She has also won three world championships and recently took bronze at the 2022 European Championships in August.
“Every fairy tale comes to an end, and mine had a wonderful happy ending in the form of a bronze medal at the European Championships in Munich, which symbolically came full circle,” said Spotakova.