Former Olympic champion Jessica Ennis-Hill has announced her retirement from athletics.
The 30-year-old has opted to walk away from the sport after just missing out on a gold medal at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in the summer.
Ennis-Hill leaves behind a long list of achievements, including two world titles, a European Championship gold and an Olympic crown, which she took in the heptathlon at the London 2012 Games.
After London, the Sheffield-born athlete had a stuttered couple of years due to injury and falling pregnant, but 10 months following the birth of her son Reggie, Ennis-Hill returned to action.
The heptathlete marked her return to major competitions by winning gold in the World Championships in Beijing, and she followed that up a year later by taking silver at Rio 2016.
Today, Ennis-Hill announced her retirement in an Instagram post, which read: "Amazing memories...from my first world title in Berlin 2009 to Rio 2016 I'm so fortunate to have had such an amazing career within the sport I love and this has been one of the toughest decisions I've had to make. But I know that retiring now is right.
"I've always said I want to leave my sport on a high and have no regrets and I can truly say that. I want to thank my family and incredible team who have spent so much of their time supporting me and enabling me to achieve my dreams. Also a huge thank you to all those people who have supported and followed my career over the years."
Ennis-Hill is currently the British national record holder for the heptathlon.
Danielle Joynson
