Athletes on retirement: Part 2

The second and final part of our series featuring athletes who have retired looks at Swedish high jump legend Stefan Holm and British triple jump star Ashia Hansen.

Stefan Holm

The Swedish 2004 Olympic high jump champion and four-time World indoor champion retired from the sport in September.

Was it an easy decision to retire?
SH: I knew that it had to come to an end one day and [it was good] that I had the opportunity to choose it like that. I was 32 years old and I knew I’d never be around in London in four years’ time. It was good that it was my decision and I wasn’t forced to quit. It think [my decision to retire] will hit me during the indoor season. I’ve been competing in every indoor and outdoor season for the past 21 years.

What are your fitness levels currently like?
SH: I did my last competition on Sept 20 and I’ve only done four training sessions in the last four months. I will try to run a half marathon in May in Gothenburg. I really need to have a goal with my training.

What is the best element to retirement?
SH: I wake up on a morning and feel quite sore in my Achilles, my knees and it is a nice feeling not to have to go training anymore.

How are you filling in your days today?
SH: I started working part-time at Karlstad University after New Year’s Eve and I try to promote the university. I also work for the athletes’ commissions at the IAAF and EAA. I love track and field... there is a lot of discussion at the moment about the sport, especially at a European level, and it is nice to be part of the discussion.

Does life today create the same buzz as when you competed?
SH: You can never recreate that feeling when you are about to go into a full, packed stadium at an Olympic final. You can never get that feeling unless you are a rock star.

Ashia Hansen

The former World Indoor triple jump record holder finally retired in July last year after suffering from a string of injuries including an horrific knee ligament injury at the 2004 European Cup in Poland.

When you had to make the decision to retire was it difficult to make?
AH: It wasn’t that difficult knowing that I wasn’t really happy doing what I was doing. I was really not happy and it was making me moody all the time I wasn’t the person that I was when I was competing. I eventually made up my mind that I wasn’t happy and I always said to myself if I’m not happy doing athletics then I will give up.

How long had you felt like this for?
AH: It was a lot to do with the frustration of not jumping the distance I thought I was capable of. I knew I would probably need another year-and-a-half to get back to that level.

Was the decision almost a relief?
AH: Oh God, yes it was. But I was really upset as well. It was like a bereavement in a way. I’d been doing athletics for over 20 years and that’s all I’ve ever known. Although I was relieved I was quite sad that I was never going to triple jump again.

What were those initial few weeks like when you had first retired?
AH: It was great. I slept for as long as I wanted to sleep. Physically and mentally I thoroughly enjoyed it. Although athletes have a rigorous routine we are quite lazy, because we train quite hard it is easy to do absolutely nothing at all when you don’t need to.

Did you know what you would do with the next phase of your life?
AH: I went with the flow. I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I wanted to go into coaching, but I didn’t have anyone to coach. I did some coaching courses I was still doing bits and pieces of work with schools. I really wasn’t in a rush to start doing anything.

When was it you made a firm decision about what the future would hold?
AH: I still haven’t made a firm decision [laughs]. I was coaching two athletes I’ve now got one [Hannah Walsh]. Decisions haven’t been made... I still want to do other things and pursue other avenues that have nothing to do with sport whatsoever. I’m just enjoying the coaching at this moment in time.

What other avenues would you like to explore?
AH: My fiancée is a builder and I’ve always been interested in renovations. We have a property in Birmingham which I renovated. He specialises in carpentry and kitchens and he has got me really interested. I want to get a job in a kitchen showroom or something like that just to start from the basics. Then eventually we would like to open our own kitchen showroom.