German sprinter Alexandra Burghardt has announced her retirement from competitive sport at the age of 32.
Burghardt has achieved the unique feat of winning medals at both the Winter and Summer Olympic Games, the only European track and field athlete to do so.
Burghardt won silver in the two-woman bobsleigh at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, only six months before running the first leg of Germany’s gold medal-winning team at the 2022 European Athletics Championships in Munich.
Two years later, Burghardt was drafted back into the German team as a last-minute replacement for one of her teammates who picked up an injury in the heats. Once again, Burghardt ran the first leg of their team that won bronze, the first German medal in the women’s 4x100m at the Olympic Games since reunification.
"Yes, my story is really special, this was not the plan. The Winter Olympics was just a try, and it turned out pretty well.
"This medal was our dream and two years ago, at the World Championships, we saw what was possible with the relay with the bronze medal. And our goal was 100% to win a medal, also this time," said Burghardt at the time.
Burghardt made her last appearance in a German vest at the 2025 European Athletics Indoor Championships in Apeldoorn where she exited in the 60m heats before missing out on a place on the German team for the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.
"It was a fantastic time full of unforgettable moments, experiences, and encounters. Thank you for this incredible journey. Now I'm looking forward to a new chapter," she wrote on Instagram.