Farewells in sport often don’t go as people hope. While some world-class athletes leave the scene at the same extraordinary level they achieved during their peak, others exit the stage visibly struggling, appearing as mere shadows of their former selves. (Year-Ender | More Sports News)
Some of the athletes in their last acts are like newborn babies at heart, the kind that cry when they are desperate for something - and super adamant in their approach to keep extending their careers.
However, there is a strange poetic brutality to the fact that all good things must come to an end, and everything that goes up has to come down, and for certain athletes, the never-die attitude will be the only quality that showcases their prime version.
Time moves slowly, doesn't it? But when sporting careers are on the edge, it somehow shifts into the next gear.
There have been some unsurprisingly surprising retirements in 2024, and among all, Rafael Nadal was undoubtedly the one that garnered the most attention.
What came before Nadal was arguably the most sustained period of wizardry, tennis, or any sport has ever seen.
92 ATP Titles, 36 Masters 1000s, 22 Grand Slams, 14 Roland Garros, one Rafael Nadal.
While Andy Murray also had to call time on his fantastic career - and if you give it a thought, in the time since his tribute video was played at the Australian Open, he’s got a metal hip implanted, was dismissed by many, retired by plenty, and still kept pushing limits.
In football, Luis Suarez had to draw curtains on his international career, one with five World Cup appearances, and someone with unadulterated passion, who wore his Uruguay kit on his heart.
For numerous sporting superstars, 2024 opened a strange door of retirement, and here are a few big names
| Athlete | Sport |
| Rafael Nadal | Tennis |
| Andy Murray | Tennis |
| Mark Cavendish | Cycling |
| Dominic Thiem | Tennis |
| Ravichandran Ashwin | Cricket (International) |
| Tom Daley | Diving |
| Peter Sagan | Cycling |
| Kellie Harrington | Boxing |
| Angelique Kerber | Tennis |
| Mijain Lopez | Wrestling |
| Emma McKeon | Swimming |
| Alex Morgan | Football |
| Gabriella Papadakis, Guillaume Cizeron | Figure Skating |
| Candace Parker | Basketball |
| Gaston Revol | Rubgy Sevens |
| Nino Salukvadze | Shooting |
| Joseph Schooling | Swimming |
| Tatjana Smith | Swimming |
| Daniel-Andre Tande | Ski Jumping |
| Uno Shoma | Figure Skating |
| Portia Woodman-Wickliffe | Rubgy Sevens |
These athletes may be leaving the sport but their legacy will live on in the kids who have their posters on their walls, teammates who shared a hug when in distress, and the rivals who fought toe-to-toe, only to exchange jerseys and click a memory after.
And to all those of you thinking about where to go after this, life and sport will move on as time will always win, but these athletes will always be a part of the move forward.
The hardest thing an athlete will ever have to overcome is the feeling that the sport does not need them anymore, and that is probably why they say that athletes die twice.
