Callum Skinner: Bahnrad-Olympiasieger hört mit 26 auf

Die meisten Sportler sind Mitte 20 in der Blüte ihrer Karriere. Umso überraschender ist es, wenn ein Athlet in diesem Alter aufhört. Callum Skinner tut es trotzdem. 

Der britische Bahnrad-Olympiasieger Callum Skinner hat seinen Rücktritt vom Leistungssport erklärt. "Es war eine lange und erstaunliche Reise. Der Radsport war sehr gut zu mir; ich habe lebenslange Freunde gefunden und meinen Traum verwirklicht, für den ich ewig privilegiert bin", schrieb der 26-Jährige am Donnerstag in seinem Instagram-Profil.

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Today, I would like to announce I am calling time on my Elite Cycling career. It’s been a long and amazing journey, starting out in the cold of Meadowbank, Edinburgh in 2006 to peaking at the Olympic Velodrome in the Team Sprint at the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games in 2016. Cycling has been very good to me, I’ve made lifelong friends and realised my dream for which I am eternally privileged. I appreciate that 26 might seem to many quite young to be transitioning away from the track, but I have never considered myself just an athlete; I consider myself far more than that. Cycling is my first love and it was the ideal place with the perfect opportunities to focus my drive to achieve great things. Now, on 7/3/19, I’m looking for a new challenge, my next Olympics. I want to build on the skills and perspective I’ve learnt and gained as a competitor over the last few years, and go on to greater things. As some of you will know, I’m particularly passionate about giving back to sport, using my profile for good, whether that’s in supporting the long overdue reform of sports governance, LGBT rights and encouraging people to get on their bikes. My last competition and podium place was at the Commonwealth Games in The Gold Coast in 2018; it was great to finish on a high. Since that time, I have been on an extended break due to my health deteriorating. This has proved to be a very challenging time. Through seeking help outside the programme, and by the unswerving support of my friends, family and agent, I have made incredible progress and I’m pleased to say have almost fully recovered. My focus and effort now lies in working in partnership with British Cycling to continue to make the athlete experience more human whilst still maintaining that performance mindset. These two essential aspects are not mutually exclusive of each other. Overall, I have had an amazing time at British Cycling and would like to thank my current and former; coaches, performance support staff and team mates for an amazing and unforgettable ten years. I wish them every success going forward.

A post shared by Callum Skinner (@cskinner92) on Mar 7, 2019 at 1:39am PST

Bei den Olympischen Spielen 2016 in Rio siegte Skinner im Teamsprint zusammen mit Philip Hindes und Jason Kenny und holte zudem eine Silbermedaille im Sprint. Aufgrund einer Erkrankung musste der Brite zuletzt eine längere Pause einlegen.
       

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Bei den Weltmeisterschaften in Pruszkow/Polen war er nur als Zuschauer. Skinner will sich jetzt im britischen Verband und in der Sportpolitik engagieren.