It was a long and successful road but for Humboldt’s Brianne Theisen-Eaton but now it is time to take a different road.
She announced her retirement from competitive athletics in an announcement posted on weareeaton.com on Jan. 4.
“It’s time to move on to my next passion, the next thing in the world I hope to make an impact in,” she said in the statement.
The decision was a long time coming for Theisen-Eaton, who said she felt an unfamiliar feeling after crossing the finish line after the 800m, her final event at the Rio Olympics.
“I was mentally exhausted. I have never been so thankful to be finished something in my life. I felt like I never wanted to do another heptathlon again. This feeling confused me,” she said noting that typically she enters a panic prior to the race and quickly changes her tune once she crosses the finish line.
“It’s then that I remember why I do the heptathlon. The adrenaline, the thrill of competition and the opportunity to compete against a group of very talented women who make me a better athlete. I instantly get excited for my next heptathlon.”
After having the strange feelings after Rio Theisen-Eaton said she took three months to completely get away.
“I didn’t think about those feelings. I didn’t want to make any decisions based on my mental exhaustion. But as the start of the 2017 season drew nearer, I felt more and more resistant to begin training,” she said.
“I gave the last 4 years everything I could. I put my life on hold. Track and field was the priority before everything else: my family, my friends, my marriage, my future. This is something I chose to do and I don’t regret it for a second. It made me happy to pursue something I was so passionate about.”
After such a long and hard road Theisen-Eaton says she has done what she set out to do to regardless of how the results fell.
“The point is that I know deep down that I gave it every ounce of energy I had and that if I went back and did it all over again, I would not change a thing; I could not have done anything better.”
Theisen-Eaton notes that her passion for track and field is no longer there noting that she knows she can not advance any further in the sport and says she does not want to come back knowing that she would not be putting everything she has into her sport.
Theisen-Eaton enjoyed a highly successful career as she captured a world indoor gold medal and a world indoor silver medal in the pentathlon, and two world championship silver medals, an Olympic bronze medal in the heptathlon.
Theisen-Eaton is also the Canadian record holder in the heptathlon and holds the indoor pentathlon Canadian record.
“(Thank you) to my country, province, and hometown. For allowing me the opportunity to represent you on the world stage.”
Theisen-Eaton will be joined in retirement by husband Ashton Eaton, who announced his own retirement on the same day.
Eaton concludes his career with two Olympic gold medals, two world championship gold medals and a world championship silver medal in the decathlon and three world indoor championships in the heptathlon.
Eaton also holds the world record in both the decathlon and the indoor heptathlon and also holds the decathlon Olympic record.
