British track sprinter Jack Carlin retires at 28 after Paris Olympics

Jack Carlin, a four-time Olympic medallist and a mainstay of British track sprinting for a decade, has announced his immediate retirement at age 28, saying he no longer has the motivation to commit fully to another Olympic cycle. Carlin made the decision after some time away following the Paris Olympics and a period of reflection during which he concluded he could not give the sport the full dedication it requires.

Carlin won silver in the team sprint and bronze in the individual sprint at both the Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 Olympics. Over a ten-year senior career he collected multiple medals at world, European and Commonwealth championships and was an under-23 team sprint world champion in 2016. He has not raced since crashing in the keirin final at the Paris Games, an incident that left him carrying an injury into the post-Games period.

Speaking at a press event, Carlin said he took time away to see if he could find the "fire and urge" to continue but ultimately felt he did not have "100" to give to the programme for the next cycle. He described a moment in training after the Games when a power clean slipped from his hands and he walked out of the gym, saying that action...