Former England midfielder Karen Carney said her body “couldn’t cope for much longer” as a professional sportswoman, detailing her morning struggle to walk to the toilet.
Carney, who won 144 caps for England and represented Great Britain at the 2012 Olympic Games, described having a “great career” playing for Birmingham City, Arsenal, Chelsea and Chicago as well as her country.
But she made the decision to retire from football in July 2019 when she felt her body had had enough.
Ms Carney, 35, told Runners World UK: “I knew four years ago that my body couldn’t cope for much longer.
“I was 31 and when I got up in the morning I’d struggle to walk to the toilet with a bad back, knees and ankles.
“I knew then that I had to stop being a professional sportsperson.”
Carney described her move into running after retirement as a “hard shift” from daily football training to “working out to keep fit and maintain good mental health”.
Speaking of her running heroes, Solihull-born Carney said: “My all-time athletics hero is Denise Lewis, who’s from my part of the Midlands.
“I also had my photo taken with Sir Mo Farah in 2012 when I was part of the Team GB Olympic squad, which was five years after I had first seen him.
“The first time we were at a pre-China World Cup training camp in Macau, and Sir Mo was also preparing there. I remember seeing this amazing athlete doing laps in the blistering heat, which was just incredible.”
Since retiring, Carney has become a regular broadcaster for live football for both men’s and women’s matches, and recently appeared as part of the England team for Soccer Aid.
She is also leading an in-depth review of women’s football to ensure the sustainable growth of the women’s game at elite and grassroots level and to build on the Lionesses’ success in winning the European title.
Read the full Karen Carney interview in the August issue of Runner’s World UK, on sale now.