Two-time world champion David Storl announces retirement

Twice world champion and three-time European Athletics Championship shot put gold medallist David Storl is set to retire from the sport after a glittering career.

The thrower, who also won silver at the 2012 London Olympic Games, will say farewell at German Indoor Championships this weekend.

The 33 year old has not competed since June 2022 and has chosen to step away from the circle permanently in front of his home fans in Leipzig.

“After the herniated disc in 2021, things became difficult,” he told the German Federation website. “At some point, what you risk is no longer in proportion to what you can gain.”

Defied convention

A brilliant young athlete, he won gold at the 2017 World Athletics Youth Championships (Ostrava, Czech Republic), 2018 World Athletics U20 Championships (Bydgoszcz, Poland) and 2019 European U20 Championships (Novi Sad, Serbia) in three successive years.

Typically, the shot put event requires years of building strength and honed technique before younger athletes succeed on the senior stage. But Storl defied convention. In winning gold at the 2011 World Athletics Championships in Daegu, South Korea with 21.78m, he became the youngest world champion in the event’s history.

He then defended the title in Moscow two years later with 21.73m, winning Olympic silver in between with 21.86m. He accumulated a hat-trick of European Championship golds in Helsinki 2012, Zurich 2014 and Amsterdam 2016.

He also won gold at the 2015 European Indoor Championships in Prague, gathering a prolific 19 medals in international championships. He retained his tried and trusted glide technique, even as the rotational spin became more favoured at the highest level.

The final throw

“I’m very satisfied, I’ve achieved quite a lot. It was really nice, you have so many opportunities and freedom,“ he said looking back on his extraordinary career.

He added: “I am most grateful to my wife and children for supporting and accompanying me on this path.”

The 1.98 m Storl will grip the 7.26kg sphere for the final time as a competitive athlete on Friday. The men’s shot begins at 19:30 CET. A live stream will be available at Leichtathletik.de and YouTube.

Source: European Athletics