Belgian decathlete Thomas Van der Plaetsen has announced his retirement at the age of 33, bringing his 15-year international career to a close.
Van der Plaetsen won a full set of European decathlon titles across the age-groups, winning European U20 and U23 gold medals in 2009 and 2011 before adding the European senior decathlon title to his collection in Amsterdam 2016.
That was a particularly poignant and emotional gold medal for Van der Plaetsen who had been diagnosed with testicular cancer two years prior in 2014.
Reflecting on his career, Van der Plaetsen told Belgian website Sporza: "That was a very beautiful moment. At that moment you don't think about it enough, but now I see how honest and human my career has been.
"And yet there will always be a little voice: what if I had just stayed healthy and injury-free? I don't think I've reached 100% of my potential but that thought is a trap. I have to put that into perspective now, because it's been really great."
Among his other accolades, Van der Plaetsen won the World University Games decathlon title in 2013 and 2015 and heptathlon bronze at the 2014 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Sopot.
He also competed at the 2016 and 2020 Olympic Games, finishing an excellent eighth in 2016 before a hamstring tear in the long jump forced Van der Plaetsen to retire after two events in Tokyo.
Van der Plaetsen’s last competition was at the Roma 2024 European Athletics Championships where he finished a creditable 11th in the decathlon with 8084 points, the 11th season in which Van der Plaetsen has surpassed the 8000 points-barrier for the decathlon.