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Scottish sprint star Carlin retires at 28: the fire is gone

Great Britain’s Jack Carlin says he would be doing himself and the Scottish national jersey ‘a disservice’ if he were to extend his career, purely for the chance to ride a home Commonwealth Games.

The four-time Olympic medallist, winning team sprint silver and individual sprint bronze at both Tokyo and Paris, has announced his retirement from cycling at the age of just 28.

He had featured in advance publicity for the Glasgow 2026 event, including remarks reported by the BBC less than a month ago, in which he gave no hint of an imminent halt. But he now says his motivation had already been ‘dwindling’ going into 2024’s Paris Olympics.

Carlin lost his individual sprint semi to Harrie Lavreysen in two, but beat Jeffrey Hoogland for bronze. He later reached the keirin final – but came down in the last-lap crash, with Lavreysen and Richardson clear.

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“After that, I took myself away from the high-performance environment and tried to search for the fire to go until the next Olympics,” he said. “But it never came back.

“People have asked, ‘what about Glasgow?’ but it’s less than a year away and I’d be doing myself and the jersey a disservice if I decided to try and put it round my back again when I’m just not in the shape to do it.

“It’s rare that someone steps away when they’re still rubbing shoulders at the top, but you have to be able to give 100%.”

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Carlin ranks fourth in Scotland’s all-time list of Olympic medal winners. But he never quite managed to claim an international level gold, and the arrival of Matthew Richardson inevitably pushed him down the GB pecking order.

“I gave everything I could, I gave my whole body to this sport, and I’m satisfied,” Carlin told the BBC. “I couldn’t do anything more. So I can’t be upset.”

GB coach Sir Jason Kenny admits his retirement leaves a hole in the British sprint programme. “In Toyko and Paris Jack was a crucial part of the team,” he told the British Cycling website, “and the medals wouldn’t have been possible without him. He has left a performance gap in the men’s sprint team with his departure that will be difficult to fill.”

Carlin’s decision is another reminder of the sport’s absolute reliance on Olympic cycles. At just 28, the same age as Lavreysen and five years younger than world champion Kento Yamasaki, he clearly has years of high-level performance left in him.

But if Olympic success is all that matters, and if younger men are performing at historic levels, it’s understandable how he might conclude that he simply can’t go any further.