Dafne Schippers announced her retirement from track and field at the age of 31.
On September 26, Schippers announced her retirement on Instagram with a heartwarming video, captioned with a message that says:
“The race stops here. As an athlete, you always know this day will come, that at one point, your career will be a moment in time—-a collection of memories and hopefully medals.
Today, I have decided to take my life off track to pursue and embrace whatever comes next, but not without saying a massive thank you for all the endless support. It has been a journey without regret.
My family, my team, my fans, and my sponsor, you made it all worthwhile.
X Dafne”
Schippers’ notable accolades over the years
The two-time Dutch champion Schippers departed the sport with a slew of awards under her belt.
Schippers’ original sport was the heptathlon, and in her years of competing in this discipline, she was met with a number of losses and successes, her most notable achievements being the gold medals that she won at the 2010 World Junior Championships and 2011 European Junior Championships. At the young age of 21, Schippers also went on to compete at the 2013 World Championships in Moscow, where she also claimed bronze, cementing her place as the first Dutch woman to ever claim a medal in the heptathlon at the World Athletics Championships.
Besides heptathlon, Schippers also competed in other disciplines in track and field like long jump, 4×100 m relay, 60 m, 100 m and 200 m. In 2014, Schippers etched her name into history by winning the 100-meter and 200-meter events at the European Athletics Championships in Zurich.
In an illustrious career, she emulated Fanny Blankers-Koen, becoming the second Dutchwoman ever to claim victory in the 100-meter race. This monumental accomplishment led to a pivotal decision as she transitioned from heptathlon to focus on sprinting.
Merely a year after this career-defining shift, Schippers secured her second gold medal in the 200m event at the 2015 World Championships in Beijing, outpacing Jamaica’s Elaine Thompson-Herah.
The subsequent year witnessed Schippers capturing her second gold in the 100 m race at the 2016 European Athletics Championships in Amsterdam, along with her maiden gold in the 4x100m relay. In the following year, she clinched her second 200m gold at the IAAF World Championships in London, achieving victory with a remarkable time of 22.05 seconds, narrowly surpassing Marie-Josée Ta Lou and Shaunae Miller-Uibo.
However, her years of success were hindered when she started to have injuries that hampered her performances. In 2019, she sustained an adductor injury during the semifinals, which forced her removal from the 200 m and 100 m final events at the 2019 World Championships in Doha. Her back injuries also restricted her from competing on the track, forcing her to take a break for more than a year.
Schippers was last seen competing at the 100 m event in the Guldensporenmeeting Kortrijk 2022, where she placed second in the heat of the event, clocking an 11.37 second time and placing second behind Jamaica’s Shashalee Forbes.
On September 28, Schippers also dedicated another post to her achievements on Instagram.
“My medals were scattered across my parents’ house and my own. In my athlete days, it was all about chasing the next medal. But now that I’ve chosen to retire, these medals carry a deeper meaning with intense memories. I counted 17 international senior medals, youth medals, honorable trophies and 22 national medals. Each medal has a story, and all the stories added up have found a new home. They finally deserve a trophy cabinet 😊✨”
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