Switzerland’s Daniela Ryf is arguably one of the greatest triathletes this sport has seen and has lit up the sport for over 15 years.
But all good things must come to an end. Today, the 36-year-old announced her plans to retire at the end of the season.
The news comes just months after the retirement of Jan Frodeno, another athlete who displayed tri greatness over many years.
“The time is right”
Ryf made the announcement via a post on her Instagram page, saying: “After 20 years in professional sport, 10 world titles and breaking the world record, I’ve reached more than I ever dreamed of.
“That’s why I am sad and happy to announce that this will be my last season as a professional athlete. It simply feels like the time is right.”
The Swiss athlete, who has won both the Ironman World Championship and the Ironman 70.3 World Championship five times apiece, went on to say: “My body has achieved extreme performances and I’m very grateful that I’ve been able to push it so far.
“Sport has taught me to be tough, it has allowed me to find and define myself and create my own path.
“Throughout my career I’ve met many amazing people who made this journey so special. I am so grateful for the support I felt through all these years from my family, friends and coaches, especially Brett. Without them my success would not have been possible.
“I’m truly grateful for all your support through the years. And to my partners, a huge thank you, for standing by my side through the highs and the lows.
“I am still filled with passion for the sport and my love for it has grown even more throughout the years.”
Ryf has been at the height of the sport ever since making a splash at the Olympics in 2008, aged 21, where she finished seventh, and her career has been littered with silverware ever since.
Among the many medals were also records, with Ryf smashing the long-distance world record by almost 10 minutes with a time of 8:08:21 at Challenge Roth.
Daniela Ryf’s race plans for 2024
Alongside her announcement, Ryf also revealed her race plans for her final year of professional racing, and it’s certainly a busy but exciting schedule.
She’ll kick off her season with the PTO’s T100 in Miami and will follow that up with five more starts at T100 events, including the final in November.
In addition to that, Ryf will also be targeting a sixth Ironman world title as she plans to head to Nice for the world championship in September.
Check out her full schedule below:
- 9 March: T100 Miami
- 21 April: Ironman South Africa
- 8 June: T100 California
- 28-29 July: T100 London
- 22 September: Ironman World Championship Nice
- 19 October: T100 Las Vegas
- 17 November: T100 Dubai
- 30 November: T100 Final
Ryf is without doubt one of the best triathletes we’ve seen since the sport began. Take a look at our list of the greatest female triathletes of all time to see how she compares to other heroes from the sport.
Top image credit: Simon Hofmann/Getty Images for Ironman
