Badminton: Danish player Viktor Axelsen, two

Facing “current back problems,” the gold medalist in Tokyo and Paris announced his retirement from sports this Wednesday on Instagram.

A giant in his discipline is calling it quits. Danish Viktor Axelsen, Olympic champion in Tokyo and Paris, announced his retirement at the age of 32 on Wednesday, due to “current back problems” that prevent him from “playing and training at the highest level.”

“Accepting this situation has been incredibly difficult. But I have reached a point where my body no longer allows me to continue,” he wrote on his Instagram account.

Axelsen has built one of the most impressive records in his sport, with two world championship titles (2017, 2022) and three European championship titles (2016, 2018, 2022), in addition to his two gold medals at the Olympics (2021, 2024) in singles. He held the world No. 1 spot for 183 weeks.

“I have achieved everything I dreamed of, and more,” he continued in his message of thanks. “While this is a goodbye to Viktor Axelsen as a badminton player, I am not saying goodbye to the sport permanently.” He played his last match last November at the Open de France in Paris.