Former Olympic 800m-Champion Nils Schumann retires

July 29, 2009

Missing motivation: 800m-runner Nils Schumann retires after several injuries. The “all of a sudden” olympic champion of the 2000 Sydney Olympic wants to concentrate on other tasks after missing the qualification for the 2009 IAAF World Championships on home ground in Berlin.

“Some day you have to be a realist and set new goals in live” the 31-year old stated to German press. He now wants to emphasis more on his company that offers motivational training and nutritional consultation. “It was getting more and more difficult to come back after those injuries and setbacks.” he tries to explain himself.

Schumann was the first Olympic Champion at the 800 meter for Germany and beat world record holder Wilson Kipketerin a tactical race with an incredible kick at the end of the final stretch. Schumann set his PB of 1:44,20min two years after the Sydney Olympics and won bronce medal in the European Championships in 2002. He also took the European Titles in the 800m (indoor and outdoor) in 1998. In recent years Schumann suffered several injuries and also two operations on his achilles tendon were undertaken. In this years German Championships he ran his last competition and clocked a 1:47,28min as a seasons best.