German pro Faris Al-Sultan has retired from top-flight triathlon after 18 years in the sport, calling it a day after dropping out from Ironman Texas last weekend with pain in his hamstrings.
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Speaking to commentator Bob Babbitt’s Babbittville Radio, Al-Sultan said he’s been “struggling more with the injuries than actually training.”
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He added: “The most important thing is your brain – if you’re mentally no longer there to really be there 100 percent, then it’s hard. Yesterday I realised that, ‘OK, I’ve had so many bad races, and I can’t stand having one more bad race.’”
We’d like to wish a happy retirement to 2005 IRONMAN World Champ Faris Al-Sultan! Thank you for a memorable 18 years. pic.twitter.com/4voZCKuHqS
— IRONMAN Triathlon (@IRONMANtri) May 19, 2015
He did say that he may do a few more short-distance races this summer, but other than that is undecided whether to move into triathlon coaching or something else entirely separate from the sport.
Al-Sultan has a string of top-flight results to his name, including winning the Ironman World Champs in Kona in 2005, taking silver at the same race in 2004 and 2006, and more recently winning the Ironman European Championships in Frankfurt in 2011.
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You can listen to the Babbittville Radio interview here.