Two-time Olympic champion Felix Sanchez retires at 38
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Olympic champion Felix Sanchez has announced his retirement at the age 38 and will not defend his title at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
Sanchez made the announcement in a video press conference in the Dominican Republic.
He made his first Olympic team in 2000 but only reached the semifinals. Sanchez went on to win gold in the 400 meter hurdles at the 2004 Olympics in Athens and 2012 Summer Games in London.
After crossing the finish line, he pulled out a picture of his grandmother that was pinned behind his race bib as he fulfilled a promise to win a medal in her memory after she died while he was at the 2004 Olympics.
[youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLf-IO6HdPM]
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He also owns two gold medals from the 2001 and 2003 world championships.
Sanchez's personal best of 47.25 puts him as the eighth best of all-time. Between 2001 and 2004, he won 43 consecutive races and has run 48 races under 48.50.
He made his final global championship appearance with a fifth place finish at the 2013 IAAF World Championships in Moscow. His final race was a fifth place finish at the NACAC Championships last summer.
- Chris Chavez
