Athletics: Irish walker Gillian O'Sullivan has announced her retirement from competitive athletics.
The 30-year-old Kerry native has struggled with injury and illness in recent years and brings the curtain down on a successful career.
"To retire from competing was always going to be a huge decision for me but I have put a lot of thought into it and I feel now is the best time to move on," she said today.
"Athletics has been so good to me but it has got to the stage where with some of the problems I've had I didn't feel I could get back to the heights I hit in 2002 and 2003 and to leave now I can be happy with everything I have achieved and not have any regrets.
O'Sullivan is the world record holder at 5000m, a record she set in Santry in 2002 at the Irish National Championships.
She is also the current Irish record holder in the 3000m, 5000m and 10000m and holds the 10k and 20k Irish road records.
Her best performance came in 2003 when she won silver in the 20km Walk at the World Championships in Paris.
She also had a fourth place finish at the 2002 European
Championships and came 10th at the Sydney
Olympics in 2000 in the same event.
"For the future I have no immediate plans but I would certainly love to be involved in athletics at some level down the line and maybe I will look at getting involved in coaching," she added.
O'Sullivan thanked Athletics Ireland, the Irish Sports Council and the Olympic Council for their help and support throughout her career.