Daria Spiridonova has officially announced her retirement from artistic gymnastics. Spiridonova struggled to return to her previous level after she had broken her foot in 2018. She was able to get her bars routine back and competed at the 2019 Worlds but could not get back to the all-around. She underwent another surgery last summer to remove a titan plate from her foot and wanted to take a break to figure out whether she was willing and capable to start training again. At the end, she made the decision to stop training and focus on her business.
She wrote on her Instagram:
“I’ve retired from the sport. [It was] my important and conscious decision to put an end to my professional sports career. It was a long and hard road that lasted 15 years. I love performing at competitions and get these unreal emotions. But with time, I realized that I started losing interest in training. A lot was possible to accomplish and a lot wasn’t, but there’s no point in looking back. Life doesn’t end with [the end of] the elite sports and I need to move forward. During the lockdown, I had a lot of free time to think about my future life. I got excited about my goals and decided to start putting them into practice. And I started with my girly dream Mikki Studio [a beauty salon Spiridonova recently opened]. I’m grateful to the sport for everything, for the people that have been by my side, for the support of our dear spectators and, of course, for the experience that can never be taken away. Now, the new life, new opportunities, and new history start.”
Valentina Rodionenko commented on Spiridonova’s retirement with her usual grace:
“Daria is retiring, we thanked her. It’s a pity, of course, but she’s exhausted her capabilities to a certain extent; she understands that. Unfortunately, good gymnasts retire, she’s a World champion and a silver Olympic medalist after all, she was a great gymnast.”
“We’ll think about how to send her off. We’re thinking about inviting her to the Russian Championships that will take place in Penza in March. Retirement send-offs have always been done and we think such a send-off would be right in this situation. We’ll try to do it.”
