Athletics: Sotherton quits due to back injury

LONDON: British heptathlete Kelly Sotherton has been forced to retire from athletics due to a back injury, wrecking her hopes of taking part in the London Olympics. The 35-year-old, who won a bronze medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics, underwent an operation to remove a piece of disc from her back. She was told at the time by her doctor that she could be running again within six weeks, which does not give her enough time to reach the qualifying standard before the British team is picked. “I thanked [the doctor] for being optimistic but there’s no chance,” Sotherton told the Mail. “You have to know when to stop. As soon as it went I knew that was it. At that moment, I said ‘It’s over’.”

Published in The Express Tribune, May 28^th, 2012.