From Andy Murray to Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce: Ten stars end Olympic careers at Paris 2024

Andy Murray and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

A host of Olympic legends are calling time on their careers at Paris 2024.

It is never easy to hang up the boots, running shoes, racket, goggles or gloves for good, but these sporting greats have decided to retire after competing in their final Olympics.

Some have bowed out in style, others suffered heart-breaking near misses in Paris, but all have entered Olympic folklore as champions of their respective sports.

With swimmer Tatjana Smith and surfer Carissa Moore among the gold-medallist retirees, here are 10 more Olympians retiring after these Games.

Ma Long

Ma Long bowed out from the sport he has dominated in style, winning his sixth table tennis gold at Paris 2024 in the team event with the People’s Republic of China.

Now a gold medallist across four Games, the 14-time world champion is now 35 and admitted these Olympics will be his last major tournament.

"I consider the Paris Olympics to be the final stop in my career, so I'm very happy to end it on such a perfect note," he said.

"However, life has a long road ahead, not just Paris."

Max Whitlock

A prominent figure within British gymnastics for more than a decade, Max Whitlock was at his best at Rio 2016, winning floor exercise and pommel horse gold as well as bronze in the all-around.

After narrowly missing out on the pommel horse podium when finishing fourth in Paris, at 31 Britain’s most successful gymnast may be retiring from the sport, but his involvement is far from over.

“My Olympic experience has been unbelievable,” he said.

“One of the best things is I have been in a position to inspire and encourage others to take up sport - it’s one of the most humbling comments I get when parents tell me that their child started gymnastics because they saw me on TV.

“I want to continue to make that impact and give children the best opportunities through sport.”

Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

One of the greatest sprinters of all time, there was to be no medal at her final Games, but the lasting impact Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce has had on the sport will make her an Olympic legend forever.

Jamaica's 10-time champion was one of the fastest women in the world for more than a decade, winning 100m gold at Beijing 2008 and London 2012 before winning bronze (Rio 2016) and then silver (Tokyo 2020) in that marquee event.

At 37, she is hanging up her running shoes to focus on family. “I think I now owe it to them to do something else,” she said.

Eliud Kipchoge

Widely regarded as the greatest marathon runner in history, Eliud Kipchoge’s Olympic Games ended by getting a Parisian taxi to the finish line, and while it wasn’t meant to be at Paris 2024, his remarkable longevity is just one attribute that makes the Kenyan so inspirational.

After bronze 20 years ago in Athens, it was then silver in Beijing, but that was in the 5000m.

Cue the jump up to marathon running in the 2010s, where he conquered the world by winning gold at Rio 2016 and then Tokyo 2020 – on top of 11 major marathons.

Marta

To many she is the GOAT of women’s football, with Brazil’s record all-time goalscorer likely having just played her final international match.

Marta, 38, may have missed out on gold again, picking up a third Olympic silver on Saturday as Brazil were edged out 1-0 by USA in the final, but the woman who has more World Cup goals than any other player in history will go down as one of the sport’s most important figures.

"I am not going to disappear from football," she said.

"I am going to try to contribute somehow to this generation, because they are very talented girls and are well aware of what we can achieve.”

Lydia Ko

Golfer Lydia Ko may be just 27 but she wanted to go out on her own terms, and after a Rio silver and Tokyo bronze, she did so in remarkable fashion in Paris when winning gold at Le Golf National - channelling Simone Biles when doing so.

The New Zealander said: "I kept telling myself I get to write my own ending - and it's a quote that Simone Biles said.

"So I kept telling myself that, and I wanted to be the one that was going to control my fate and the ending to this week and to have ended this way is honestly a dream come true."

Andy Murray

Not only was Paris 2024 Andy Murray’s final Olympic Games, it was also his final event entirely, with the Briton calling time on a glittering tennis career where he faced up to some of the greatest players this sport has ever seen.

The 37-year-old beat Roger Federer to win gold at London 2012, where he also won mixed doubles silver, and that gave Murray the belief to go on and win two Wimbledon titles and a US Open, all before defending his Olympic singles crown in Rio.

His career ended in the men’s doubles at Paris 2024, with Murray displaying his trademark resilience alongside Dan Evans as they fended off match points to win their first two encounters before losing to No. 3 seeds Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul.

Kellie Harrington

Back-to-back. History made. Boxer Kellie Harrington successfully defended her Tokyo gold with another dominant display in Paris, becoming the first Irish woman to win consecutive Olympic titles.

And that was that for the Dublin-born 34-year-old, who also won lightweight gold at the 2018 World Championships, as she announced her retirement after the fight.

“I’m done and dusted. I’m going to go out a champion. That’s the way I want to go out,” she said, after beating Yang Wenlu of the People’s Republic of China in the final via a 4-1 split decision.

Mikkel Hansen

One of the handball greats, Mikkel Hansen has been a key figure for Denmark on the international stage, and was their top goalscorer and the overall MVP when winning Rio 2016 gold.

A silver medallist in Tokyo, Hansen had a chance to bow out with a second gold, and he did just that when Denmark beat Germany 39-26 in the gold medal match at Paris 2024 on Sunday 11 August - Hansen scoring twice.

Emma McKeon

Australia’s most decorated Olympian ever, Emma McKeon finished with a flourish to add one more swimming gold to her collection of 14 Olympic medals.

Across just three Games, McKeon won six golds, three silvers, and five bronze, with Tokyo 2020 her greatest year of all as she did the 50m and 100m freestyle double before winning 4x100m freestyle and medley relay golds, on top of three bronzes.

“I definitely will miss it,” she said.

“It has brought me a lot of great relationships and great experiences and shaped me into the person I am.

“I will miss the training and the racing but I am definitely ready for the next part of my life which I am excited for.”