Carolina Marín has announced her retirement from professional badminton. The Olympic champion from Rio 2016 and three-time world champion had hoped to continue competing, but explained in a video post on her Instagram account that she is still suffering the aftereffects of the serious injury she sustained at Paris 2024.
“I wanted us to see each other one last time on court, but I don’t want to put my body at risk for that,” said Marín.
“I’ve said it many times and I stand by my decision. I wanted my career to end in a different way, but in life things don’t always happen as we want, and we have to accept that.”
A few weeks ago, Marín underwent surgery on her right knee for the third time in an attempt to ease the pain she was still experiencing almost two years after the last Olympic Games.
She suffered her first serious injury in 2019, and in May 2021, just two months before the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, she tore a cruciate ligament and meniscus in her left knee. Three years later at Paris 2024, she suffered a third rupture that she has not been able to overcome.
“Deep down, I did retire on a court — in Paris 2024 — we just didn’t know it at the time,” Marín said in her farewell video.
Marín had recently received an invitation to compete at the 2026 European Championships, which will be held in her hometown of Huelva.
“I wanted the journey to end in Huelva, and it will. Not with a racket in my hand, but in the city where I was born, to close a circle spanning many years,” she explained.
“I will be there to give back all the energy you’ve given me over all this time and to experience an unforgettable week, because that girl who discovered badminton and wanted to win everything is now happy and returning home.
“I leave with my passion feeling very proud of everything I have achieved — more than the titles, for having earned the respect of the sporting world both on and off the court, and for helping badminton to be recognised, seen, and played in my country. I couldn’t ask for anything more.”
READ MORE: https://www.olympics.com/en/news/carolina-marin-announces-retirement-from-badminton
