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As a swimmer, Sarah Wellbrock always stood for a good mood and top performances - here at the world record over 1500 meters freestyle in 2019

Photo: Jo Kleindl / picture alliance/dpa

Olympic bronze medallist Sarah Wellbrock ends her career due to ongoing health problems. This means that German swimming has lost its most famous female face since the times of Franziska van Almsick and Britta Steffen.

"Swimming has been a part of me for most of my life and has determined my everyday life for the last 18 years. But for over two years, my body has not been able to withstand the strain," Wellbrock wrote on Instagram.

The 28-year-old wrote, "and there will certainly be more to come." For her own good, she must now draw a line.

Over the past two years, the lawyer had repeatedly hoped to get her protracted shoulder problems under control once again. Despite great effort, however, no improvement has occurred, according to a statement from its management.

"It was an incredibly tough decision," wrote the Tokyo bronze medalist, who celebrated success under her birth name Köhler before marrying Olympic champion Florian Wellbrock in 2021. She will "miss all this so much". Rationally, however, the end of a career is the best decision.

Highlight of the Olympics and the career after the career

Over the past decade, Wellbrock has risen to become the most successful athlete in the German Swimming Association (DSV). At the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo, she won bronze in the 1500-meter freestyle, became world champion in the five-kilometer open water team in 2019 and became European champion in the 2017-meter freestyle in 800.

In 2019, she swam to a short course world record. In addition, as an active spokesperson for the national team, she stood up for her colleagues, "and was never avoided conflicts," as the association said.

Now Wellbrock will advance her career after her career - and will probably remain at least partially loyal to the sport as a trained lawyer, possibly as a consultant on legal issues for athletes. "I am proud of what I have achieved and very confident that I will be able to celebrate further successes in the future, albeit in a different setting," Wellbrock wrote in his farewell.

vgl/dpa/sid