She came out to defy Russia. Now this Olympic snowboarder is retiring ahead of Milan.
Belle Brockhoff came out publicly ahead of her first Winter Olympics, held in Russia. Now an injury 12 years later is forcing her retirement. The post She came out to defy Russia. Now this Olympic snowboarder is retiring ahead of Milan. appeared first on Outsports.
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Out Olympian Belle Brockhoff is calling it a career. The three-time snowboarder in the Winter Olympics has announced her retirement just days ahead of the Milan Olympics that she was hoping would be her fourth.
“I will miss everything snowboard cross has given me,” she wrote in a lengthy message on Instagram. “It has been my passion, my identity and my greatest adventure.”
She had been aiming for her fourth Winter Olympics, hoping for a spot in Milan. A year ago, she was headed in that direction. Yet her life was altered late last winter at the Snowboard Cross World Cup race in Georgia, in which she had a terrible crash.
She had to be airlifted to a hospital having suffered a fractured vertebra.
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Still, Brockhoff was undeterred, attempting what would have been a comeback for the ages. Instead, she’s made the decision to step away from the sport and avoid any risk of further injury, with paralysis a potential outcome to continuing her competitive career.
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“I’ve rehabbed and trained hard for many months but I know my body’s limits,” Brockhoff wrote. “It is with this and more than 20 years of snowboarding, that I know in my heart it is time to step away from competitive racing.”
Brockhoff came out publicly ahead of the 2014 Winter Olympics — her first — to defy the anti-gay laws being pushed by the Russian government. Those Olympics were held in Sochi on the coast of the Black Sea.
“I want to be proud of who I am and be proud of all the work I’ve done to get into the Olympics and not have to deal with this law,” Brockhoff said at the time.
At the 2022 Winter Olympics, Brockhoff made it all the way to the final, where she finished fourth and just off the medal podium.
We wish Belle Brockhoff a happy retirement and next phase in her life.
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The post She came out to defy Russia. Now this Olympic snowboarder is retiring ahead of Milan. appeared first on Outsports.
