King calls time on career
Olympic long jumper Arantxa King has hung up her spikes at the age of 27.
“I retired after a series of injuries I could not overcome and the general sentiments of wanting to move on from sport,” King said.
The daughter of Branwen Smith-King — who competed in the shot put — and former Bermuda and St George’s fast bowler Adrian King, represented the island at the 2008 Beijing Games and in London four years later.
She agonisingly missed out on the final at London 2012, falling short by one spot after finishing thirteenth.
Having tied with Veronika Shutkova with a best leap of 6.40 metres, the decision went to countback in the Belarussian’s favour as her second furthest leap (6.21) was marginally longer than King’s (6.20)
King also missed out on final in of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in 2014, where she was only able to register one legal mark with a leap of 6.02 — some way short of her personal best of 6.46.
A national indoor and outdoor record holder, King also competed at the World Championships in Moscow in 2013 and the Pan Am Games in Rio de Janeiro in 2007. King also won a silver medal at the Central American and Caribbean Championships in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, in 2011, as well as claiming gold at the World Youth Championships in Marrakesh, Morocco, in 2005 and multiple honours at the Carifta Games and Pan American Junior Games.
King, who also competed in the 100 metres and triple jump, also thrived during her NCAA career at Stanford University where she graduated with a degree in political science and a master’s degree. She was an NCAA runner-up and All-American on multiple occasions.
Donna Raynor, the Bermuda National Athletics Association president, described King as a fierce competitor who could have reached even higher heights had it not been for injuries.
“Arantxa was a great athlete and I enjoyed being around her,” Raynor said. “She was a fierce competitor and had a lot of injuries throughout her athletic career but through it all she always gave 100 per cent.
“She has been one of our top female athletes for a number of years. I have no doubt this was not an easy decision to make to retire from a sport that she has given the majority of her life to.
“But she can say she gave it her all, was able to make it to the top of her sport and now she is moving on to the next phase of her life.
“I have no doubt that we will stay in touch and she will assist Bermuda as much as she can. Arantxa is a great role model in athletics and education and should be looked up to by our youth athletes, especially our females. I will miss her but appreciate what she has done for this sport.”
King’s announcement follows on from the retirement of Olympic swimmers Roy-Allan Burch and Julian Fletcher last week.
Arantxa King has been named among the newest members of the Massachusetts State Track Coaches Athlete Hall of Fame.
The Bermuda Olympic long jumper is among seven new inductees who will join a very select group of elite athletes from Massachusetts at the induction ceremony to be held at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center in Massachusetts on January 29.
King thrived during her NCAA career at Stanford University where she was an NCAA runner-up and All-American on multiple occasions.
“I loved my college track team!,” King said. “We had great success placing top three in Pac -10/12 in the years I competed. One of our greatest team memories was when we won the 2012 Indoor Conference Meet.”
Just last November the two-times Olympian joined elder sister Akilah in the Medford High Mustang Hall of Fame.
“I had the privilege of running with my older sister my freshmen year in high school,” King said. “My older sister is someone I admired to the extent that I strived to mimic (and surpass) her athletic and academic achievements.”
King, who resides in London, England, has retired from competition.
“I retired after a series of injuries I could not overcome and the general sentiments of wanting to move on from sport,” she said.
During her distinguished career King represented Bermuda at the 2008 Beijing Games and 2012 London Games as well as the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
The national indoor and outdoor record holder also competed at the World Championships in Moscow in 2013 and the Pan Am Games in Rio de Janeiro in 2007.
She won a silver medal at the Central American and Caribbean Championships in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, in 2011, as well as claiming gold at the World Youth Championships in Marrakesh, Morocco, in 2005 and multiple honours at the Carifta Games and Pan American Junior Games.
