The Olympic bronze medalist shot putter Anita Márton has announced her retirement. She feels that the World Championships in Budapest are the perfect conclusion and she will not be separated from athletics in the future.
"I would like to officially announce the end of my career as an elite athlete," said the Olympic bronze medalist shot putter on M4 Sport in the National Sports News on Thursday.
34-year-old Anita Márton revealed that after the World Championship in Budapest, she asked for some time to think, considered the pros and cons, and then decided to finish.
- It was really a special experience to compete in front of a domestic audience, I received good feedback from both acquaintances and strangers. I wanted to make it to the final round of 12, it didn't even seem out of reach based on the training, but the big boost I was hoping for didn't come at the World Championship. Anyone who is involved in this environment knows exactly that this is what sport is like, there are ups and downs along with high points. Even before the birth of my child, I was of the opinion that even if I didn't return, my career would be complete. That's all I've had in elite sports, if I had to start over, I'd do everything the same. - the athlete told nazemzisport.hu.
Recalling his career, he emphasized that it did not start easily, but he learned to overcome difficulties, and in fact, it became his trademark that he was always able to improve at the last push and achieve better positions or national tops.
"My coach and I always set an achievable goal and when we reached it, we moved on from there"
he emphasized.
Anita Márton revealed that one of her fondest memories is the Olympic bronze medal, which "brings tears" to recall.
His coach, László Eperjesi, also spoke on the broadcast, and he said that his student was 12.5 years old when he met him for the first time at a competition. He added that in the beginning, in addition to the shot put, the discus throw and the hammer throw were also practiced in the same way, and when Anita Márton was 23 years old, it became clear that the shot put would be her main event.
About the world championship title, he said that in Birmingham, Anita Márton defeated competitors that she had never seen before.
"The determination and motivation to always want to do better kept him at the forefront of the world"
said the master.
Miklós Gyulai, the president of the Hungarian Athletics Association, highlighted in the National Sports News, Anita Márton's career spanned almost a quarter of a century. He added that it was important for him to personally experience his successes from the moment he "started to spread his wings".
"And the results speak for themselves, we are talking about our first world champion, an Olympic bronze medalist," he emphasized. He indicated that he would like Anita Márton to stay in the sport, the association already has plans for this, as she has knowledge and experience that it would be a mistake not to use.
Anita Márton won a gold medal at the 2018 indoor world championships, and second place at the 2017 world championships is her best result, in addition to the Olympic bronze.
MTI / National Sports / Civilek.info
Cover photo: Anita Márton in the women's shot put final at the 128th Hungarian Athletics Championships at the National Athletic Center on July 8, 2023. MTI/Koszticsák Solid
