Doncaster Olympian Beth Dobbin retires because of 'life-changing health issue'

The 31-year-old sprinter, who hails from Sprotbrough, ran at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, reaching the semi-finals, and won 4x400m relay bronze for Scotland at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

She also competed at three European Championships and two World Championships.

In 2018, she smashed a Scottish record that had stood for 34 years and was crowned British champion, while her best time of 22.50 seconds came at the 2019 Anniversary Games in London.

Breaking the news of her retirement via social media, Dobbin wrote: "There isn't space to list the highs I've experienced."

Choosing not to go into detail on her illness, she continued: "I am very proud of my journey. From never getting close to making junior teams to breaking through at 24."

On her enforced absence from the track, Dobbin said: "Unlike injuries, where you are surrounded by physio expertise, this often isn't the case with illness.

"Instead it's been a journey of getting answers and trialing treatment.

"On one hand it feels like my career has been cut short and it feels cruel not to be retiring on my own terms. On the other, I achieved so much more than I ever expected.

"I may not be leaving the sport with an Olympic medal, but I'm leaving with many dreams fulfilled."

In 2019, she revealed how she had been diagnosed with epilepsy at the age of 13.

She said: “I had no idea what it was really.

“After my first seizure, I couldn't talk, I couldn't walk, I couldn't move the left side of my face. I couldn't recognise my parents and I had no memory.”

She added: “Epilepsy can be extremely tough, both mentally and physically. Running was something that helped me deal with mental struggles, by blocking out everything else and just focusing on the run.

Speaking about how she dealt with the diagnosis Beth said: “When I was first diagnosed I remember feeling upset that I had to take medication every day. The doctors advised that I shouldn't go out on my own or take baths unsupervised.

“Looking back, that definitely isn't the end of the world but at the time it upset me. I also remember feeling that I didn't really understand what epilepsy was - so how was I going to explain it to others? I struggled to talk to anyone about it and it was a lot to deal with at a young age. I probably didn't deal with it very well at the time, which is why the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder developed later on.

“Before my diagnosis I ran competitively. After a large seizure left me unable to walk, I had to take a lot of time off athletics and started back slowly.

"From then on, my performances weren't very good. I believe this was down to my medication, as I was just so tired all the time. After a couple of months of coming off my medication I was performing so much better.”

She is the daughter of former Celtic, Grimsby Town, Barnsley and Doncaster Rovers footballer Jim Dobbin.