Stephanie Graf (centre) running to World silver, next to eventual winner Maria Mutola (left) in Edmnonton 2001 (© Getty Images)
Olympic 800 metres silver medallist Stephanie Graf has made the surprise decision to retire.
The 30-year-old was expected to challenge for medals at the Olympics in Athens later this year, but she has opted to quit athletics.
Her decision was confirmed earlier this morning by her manager Jos Hermens -
"It's a great pity and her decision caught us by surprise,"said Hermens. "I knew Stephanie had been struggling to regain condition and was slightly below-par for a few weeks but her announcement still really surprised me."
"Of course if she was not feeling comfortable with her training and felt that she would not be able to perform well at the Olympics, I can fully understand her decision to quit, though it is a great shame."
Graf who is currently the fifth best 800m in the IAAF's World Ranking, finished second at the Sydney Olympics in 2000, and the next year also claimed silver at the World Championships in Edmonton.
Twice a silver medallist at the World Indoor Championships, in 2001 and 2003, she was European Indoor champion in 2000 and second-placed in 2002.
Her 800m personal bests came in major championships.
Her fastest outdoor run of 1:56.64 was set while finishing second to Mutola in Sydney.
Most memorably, her indoor best of 1:55.85 was recorded on home turf in the final of the 2002 European Indoor Championships. In that race Graf broke the World Indoor record by 0.55 but in a dramatic finishing straight battle was beaten to the gold by Slovenia's Jolanda Ceplak - 1:55.82 to 1:55.85.
