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IAAF.org: Wilson Kipketer announces retirement

Exclusive interview

2005-08-18

Wilson Kipketer of Denmark, World 800m record holder, a Monaco resident, visited the IAAF HQ offices on Tuesday and gave an exclusive interview in which he officially announced his retirement from competitive athletics. The 34-year-old, IAAF Ambassador, three time World 800m champion outdoors (1995, 97 and 99), and a two-time Olympic medallist, travelled on Wednesday to the Weltklasse Zürich TDK Golden League meeting which takes place on Friday (19), but for the first time in his life it will be as a non-participant in anything other than the capacity of a VIP spectator in the Letzigrund arena.

So when and why was your decision made to announce your retirement?

Wilson Kipketer: “I made my decision after Athens, but that was my private decision. It was the point of my mental adjustment to the fact that I would not compete again, that it was the end of it. But this is the first time I have felt ready to put my private decision into words.”

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