Jessie Knight announces her retirement
The Olympic 400m hurdler has made the decision to hang up her spikes after representing Great Britain in Paris
Jessie Knight, who competed for Great Britain at two Olympics and won five British titles over 400m/400m hurdles, has retired.
The 30-year-old, who specialised in both the 400m and 400m hurdles, shared the news on Instagram, stating: “The time has come to say goodbye to competitive sport. “Having competed since I was eight years old, I finally got my first GB call up aged 26.
“Since then I have represented my country in two Olympic Games, two World Championships, two European Championships, one Commonwealth Games, two World Indoor Championships and one European Indoor Championships.
“I have a relay medal from Worlds, Indoor Worlds and European Indoors. I have also won two indoor 400m British titles and three 400m hurdle outdoor titles.”
Jessie Knight (Mark Shearman)
She added: “The 26-year-old primary school teacher couldn’t have predicted what was going to happen over the following four years.
“It has been far from easy at times but I am walking away with the fondest of memories, experiences of a lifetime, lessons learnt and some very special people to add to my circle.
“The Olympic Games in Paris was the perfect ending for me. I ended my career on the biggest and best stage, it doesn’t get better than that.”
Knight’s personal bests include a 400m 51.57 (indoors) and 54.09 in the 400m hurdles, placing her fourth on the UK’s all-time 400m hurdles list.
Her international career also saw her earn multiple relay medals, including 4x400m bronze at the 2022 World Championships and world indoor 4x400m bronze in Glasgow this year.
Jessie Knight in Oregon (Getty)
Knight also claimed 4x400m European indoor silver in Torun in 2021, alongside Zoey Clark, Ama Pipi, and Jodie Williams, the latter also announcing her retirement this month.
Jodie Williams announces retirement
Domestically, Knight claimed five British titles, winning gold over the 400m hurdles on three occasions at the British Championships, in 2020, 2022 and 2023, while also securing bronze in 2019 and 2021.
Indoors, she took gold across the 400m in 2020 and 2022, taking silver in 2021 behind Jodie Williams.
Jessie Knight (Getty)
Knight’s Olympic journey was marked by both triumph and setbacks. Her first Olympic appearance in Tokyo ended in disappointment after she tripped and fell at the first hurdle.
However, she bounced back to qualify for Paris 2024, where she made it through to the semi-finals, finishing sixth after navigating the repechage round.
Knight’s career is even more remarkable considering her dual role as a primary school teacher.
She briefly stepped away from athletics in 2017 to focus on teaching but returned a year later, and soon began her professional career.
Knight opens up about her decision to retire exclusively with AW in our December magazine, which is out on November 28.
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