Dame Sarah Storey retires from international competition to boost Para-sport

Dame Sarah Storey retired from international competition with immediate effect, ending a 35-year career that took her from the Barcelona Paralympics in 1992 to 30 medals and 19 golds. The 48-year-old chose not to target Los Angeles 2028, which would have been her 10th Paralympic Games, and said she wants to focus on helping improve Para-sport off the bike.

Storey said Para-sport has "stalled somewhat" since London 2012 and that many areas "still need attention". She described the moment as a "critical stage" and said she wants to help inject the momentum needed to ensure the future is bright for all Para-athletes.

Storey is Britain’s most decorated Paralympian. She won five swimming golds, eight silvers and three bronzes before illness forced her out of the pool for much of 2005, prompting a switch to cycling. She then won 14 Paralympic cycling golds, including four at London 2012, when she landed the first British gold of the Games and set a world-record pursuit ride.

Storey’s 19th Paralympic gold came in Paris 2024. She became the most successful British Paralympian of all time in 2021, when she passed swimmer Mike Kenny’s then-record of 16 golds. She also became only the second para-athlete to compete for England at the Commonwealth Games, finishing sixth in the individual pursuit in Delhi in 2010.

Storey’s last eight Paralympic titles came after she became a mother, with daughter Louisa born in 2013 and son Charlie in 2017. Lord Coe, who chaired London 2012’s organising committee and now leads World Athletics, said the sport must keep taking "small but steady steps forward" so what has gone before is not wasted.