Olympic Gold Medalist Gymnast Announces Shocking Retirement at 22

Israeli gymnast and Olympic gold medalist Linoy Ashram has announced some rather sad news. At the mere age of 22, Ashram has a string of great achievements to her name.

Not only was she the 2020 Olympic all-around champion, but she was also the 2018 World all-around silver medalist. Moreover, she has also won the world all-around bronze medal twice in her career.

Among other achievements, it is her young age that set her apart as a prodigy, with many achievements to come yet. However, Linoy Ashram has announced her retirement from the sport in a sad development.

Linoy Ashram announces sad news early in her career

Linoy Ashram, the 2020 Olympic gold medalist gymnast from Israel, spoke during a press conference in Tel Aviv today on April 4. There, the 22-year-old

announced her retirement from competition, effective immediately.

Ashram was the European 2020 all-around champion, and even the 2019 European Games all-around silver medalist. “I am announcing my retirement from competition,” Ashram said, visibly emotional.

In fact, she was even fighting back tears as she made her announcements. Explaining her decision, Linoy Ashram expressed that “athletes need to know when to retire, and as far as I?m concerned, I achieved my dream”.

“I reached my professional peak,” she stated, expressing she had done what she wanted to do as an athlete. Nevertheless, Ashram will continue being with the sport in some capacity.

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“I decided that this is the right time to continue on the same path, but this time from the other side of the mat,” she said. In that vein, she shared that she would continue her career as a coach in Israel’s gymnastics team.

Ashram looks back on 2020 Olympic gold medal win

Ashram, who was the all-around world champion in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, described her first practice session. She shared that she had been experiencing fears and stress during the time.

“So many different thoughts passed through my head,” the Israeli champion recalled. She shared how she had been telling herself that she finally “reached the moment (she) had waited for for so long”.

She described the 2020 Tokyo Olympics as “the most important moment in (her) career,” which she had “worked toward for fifteen years”. Now, Ashram feels it is the right time to switch from an athlete to a coach, and has thus retired as an athlete.

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