An Olympic shot putter retires from athletics and takes up a team sport.
Sophie McKinna, 31, from Bradwell, near Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, has spent the last six months playing rugby and hopes to join a Premiership team.
The nine-time national champion had previously considered retirement when a serious elbow injury put her Paris 2024 Olympic dreams on hold.
“I have no regrets about my career at all. I have performed the best I could and got the best out of my body that I physically could,” he said.
At just four years old, McKinna already aspired to become an Olympian. He started throwing at 12.
While injuries were “part and parcel” of elite sport, he said years of hyperextending the elbow with such force had resulted in wear and tear.
He said undergoing surgery on his elbow and then losing some support and backing when he returned to shot put had been “the downfall of my career.”