Hayley Wickenheiser, the greatest women’s hockey player in history, ended her decorated career after five Winter Olympics at age 38.
The four-time Olympic champion retired one year before the PyeongChang Winter Games because of “opportunities I couldn’t put off any longer,” including medical school. Wickenheiser played in her first world championship since the Olympics last season, and had said she wanted to play through 2018, after undergoing left foot surgeries in consecutive years.
“The longer I sat on it, the more I felt it’s the right time,” Wickenheiser said in a Canadian Press interview. “It’s always hard to leave something you love so much behind … and it’s scary to move forward.