5 athletes who retired in 2019
2019 finished and the end of the races of several athletes also arrived. From LatinAmerican Post we make a special mention to the long trajectories of these athletes .
Oscar Figueroa and Andrew Luck. / Photos: flickr.com/YiFeiBot, Hanover MD
LatinAmerican Post | Laura Viviana Guevara Muñoz
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Leer en español: 5 depotistas que se retiraron en 2019
1. Andrew Luck
We started this list with the former NFL player. Recognized for being the quarterback of the Indianapolis Colts, a team where he developed his entire career, he announced his retirement last August, before starting the current campaign.
The announcement took fans by surprise, as the 30-year-old referred to his retirement just two weeks before the championship began. According to Forbes, the player preferred to think about his happiness over the contract and his responsibility to the team. However, the main reasons for his retirement are due to injuries that since 2015 afflicted him.
Recently, it has been speculated that the famous quarterback could play again for the Colts, despite reports by Heavy media announce that “the Colts do not expect their quarterback to return in 2020. In fact, team owner Jim Irsay did not give no indication that Luck will return for the next season, despite previous optimism that Luck could return after a one-year retirement. ”
2. Lindsey Vonn
One of the best skiers in the world, announced her retirement in February 2019. The American managed to obtain the record for the highest number of victories in the Alpine Skiing World Cup (82), added to the fact that she is the winner of an Olympic medal and that in 2019 she was awarded the Princess of Asturias Award for Sports.
From the hand of HBO, the athlete released a documentary that initially filmed how it was going to be the attempt to beat the record of 86 World Cup victories held by Ingemar Stenmark. However, a complicated knee injury modified the initial objective of the documentary, taking a turn towards how she lived her last season as a skier “and her vital approach to face the withdrawal after a hard recovery,” according to Marca.
In the middle of her retirement, the skier announced through her Instagram account that she asked her boyfriend PK Subban, the ice hockey defender for the New Jersey Devils, to marry. Subban accepted and so far the wedding date has not been announced.
Read also: Goodbye football! 5 players who retired in 2019
3. Oscar Figueroa
In November 2019, one of the stars of Colombian sport announced his retirement from weightlifting. Among his most important triumphs is the bronze medal won at the 2012 Olympic Games, and the gold medal at the Rio Olympic Games in 2016. With this last triumph he was established as the third Colombian to obtain a gold medal, and the first man to do it.
In addition, within its category of 62 kilos, he managed to lift the heaviest weight 318 kilos in three efforts. Added to the various triumphs in different competitions such as the Weightlifting World Championship, the Pan American Games, Central American, among others.
Figueroa has stood out for its commitment to the welfare of athletes in Colombia, being one of the pioneers in creating the Ministry of Sports. Given this, the athlete told W radio that "I aspire to be the minister at the time, I am still preparing for it academically, we must continue preparing because there is still much to do for the Colombian sport."
4. David Ferrer
One of the most important Spanish tennis players announced his retirement in 2018, but that took place in May 2019. The last tournament he played was the Master 1000 of Madrid, after falling in the second round against the German Alexander Zverev.
Ferrer was recognized for being a great rival of the 'big four' (big four in English), a name called Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray; despite not having a Grand Slam throughout his career.
With almost twenty years of career, the Spanish achieved 27 titles, won 3 Davis Cups, reached the final of the Roland Garros in 2013, but there he lost against his compatriot Rafael Nadal and was 3 in the world.
5. Dwyane Wade
The NBA legend retired from the courts in April 2019, in a game playing for the team he debuted: the Miami Heats. In the game, he scored 30 points and in January of that same year, Wade became the third player in NBA history to record at least 20,000 points, 5,000 assists, 4,000 rebounds, 1,500 steals, 800 blocks and 500 triples, according to ESPN
He played 17 seasons, established himself as one of the best players in the NBA by winning three rings of that competition and being MVP of the 2006 finals, as explained by AS. With the national team of the United States he managed to obtain the bronze medal in the 2004 Olympics; and in 2008 the team won the gold.
