Olympic medallist and Athletes' Commission member Tasha Danvers retires | 18.06.2012
 |
| British hurdler and European Athletics Athletes' Commission member Tasha Danvers announced her retirement from the sport on Sunday. |
Danvers, 34, is also a member of the European Athletics Athletes' Commission.
She has battled a series of injuries since finishing third in Beijing and has decided that her body is not able to meet the demands of another Olympic Games.
"It's extremely disappointing not to be able to put myself into contention for selection for London 2012. Based on my training at different stages my coach and
I believed we had a genuine chance of making it, but the setbacks have been too many to overcome.
"Since winning Olympic bronze in Beijing, I have made so many sacrifices to fulfil my dream of competing in London. Making the decision to relocate back to
the UK meant leaving my seven-year-old son behind in America which is the hardest thing in the world to do.
"We genuinely believed I could step onto that podium again and with the support of my family, (Danvers' coach) Malcolm Arnold, UK Athletics, the medical team and the (British) National Lottery, I've done everything possible to try and achieve that. Sadly my body has had enough."
Danvers also won the Commonwealth Games 400m hurdles silver medal in 2006 and made the final of the 2002 and 2006 European Athletics Championships, finishing seventh on both occasions.
UK Athletics Head Coach Charles van Commenee said: "We don't have too many current Olympic medallists in our team and in an ideal world they would all be with us in London. Tasha knows what it takes to be competitive and make the podium, which would have been a huge advantage.
"Retirement is a hard decision for any athlete, but when the decision is taken out of your hands so close to an Olympic Games it must be even tougher. I wish Tasha all the very best."
