Top long jumper Ksenija Balta retires from competitive athletics
Estonian athlete Ksenija Balta has announced her decision to retire from competition.
Balta, 37, took gold in the long jump at the 2009 European Indoor Championships and holds the domestic records in the 100-meter sprint (11.35), the 200 meters (23.05) as well as in her main event, the long jump (6.87 meters)
Writing on her social media account, Balta announced: "I've changed my mind so many times, but I've now made my decision—my sporting journey has come to an end."
"One blink, and it's over," she added.
View this post on Instagram
Balta competed in the 2008 Beijing Olympics and won the European indoor long jump title the following year in Turin.
In 2010, she placed fourth at the World Indoor Championships and remained at the peak of the sport for several years, though did not reach the podium at major competitions after that.
She came sixth place in the long jump at the Rio de Janeiro in 2016, but failed to register a result five years later in Tokyo.
Last year, she suffered a serious knee injury, and recently told Vikerraadio that she is now focused on motherhood and coaching up-and-coming young athletes.
She was also one of the Olympic flame torch-bearers ahead of the Paris games in July-August.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte, Kristjan Kallaste
