Former Olympic 5,000m champion Gabriela Szabo has announced her retirement from competitive athletics.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/athletics/4546811.stm The 29-year-old Romanian dominated the event between 1997 and 2000, winning the 2000 Olympic title as well as three world championship golds. But after a series of defeats, Szabo ended her 2004 season last February citing exhaustion. "Everything has to come to an end. Too much competition stress, too much hard training, that's enough," she said. "Last year I felt blocked after 16 years of competition at the highest world level. "Now I think it is better to put an end to the happiest chapter of my life." Earlier this week Szabo was named as the Romanian Athletic Federation vice-president. ENDS