Paris 2024 Olympics - Track Cycling - Men's Sprint, Qualifying - Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines Velodrome, Montigny-le-Bretonneux, France - August 07, 2024. Jack Carlin of Britain in action. REUTERS/Agustin Marcarian
LONDON (Reuters) -Britain's four-times Olympic track cycling medallist Jack Carlin announced his retirement on Wednesday saying he could no longer give 100% to the sport after a decade of near misses.
The 28-year-old Scottish sprinter took home a bronze and a silver from the Paris Olympics as he did at the Tokyo Games and also was a three-times world championship silver medallist.
But he will not be going for gold in Los Angeles in 2028.
"I took a bit of time away (after Paris) to try and find that fire and urge to go again for another four years," Carlin, whose role modal was fellow Scot and British cycling great Chris Hoy, told reporters in a conference call on Tuesday.
"I got myself back into physical kind of fighting shape, just the motivation never came back to really feel like I could throw myself back into it for another long period."
Despite a stellar career Carlin never managed to win a gold medal at a major championships, largely due to the fact he was competing in the same era as Dutch sprint king Harrie Lavreysen.
He was beaten by Lavreysen in the semi-final rides in the sprint at both the Tokyo and Paris Olympics and was also part of the British team beaten to gold by the Dutch in the team sprint at both of those Olympics. Lavreysen also ended Carlin's quest for gold at the 2023 worlds on his home Glasgow track.
Asked if the five-time Olympic champion would give him sleepless nights in retirement, Carlin said he has no regrets about taking on arguably the greatest track cyclist of all time.
"I think the beauty of it is that at least I was there giving it that, I gave 100% to the programme and I gave my life to it and really buckled down," he said.
"There's not many people who have rubbed shoulders with (Lavreysen) on a regular basis and even to be in the same picture, talking to him and sharing podiums. He is one of the best, if not the best in our sport.
"I don't think anyone's actually ever achieved the feats that he's achieved in terms of back-to-back wins.
"So, no, I won't wake up in cold sweats. I think I'm truly happy with what I have achieved. If I was to look back and say to 18-year-old Jack, listen, you're going to walk away in 10 years' time with four Olympic medals, I'd be proud of that."
Carlin said he had been tempted to stick around for next year's Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
"That's probably the biggest temptation was the home Games representing Scotland. But I think I'd be doing myself a disservice. I'm not 100% in it anymore. I don't miss having aches and pains every day. I don't miss being sore walking up a set of stairs. I don't miss any of these things."
(Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Ken Ferris)
