Jamaican track and field sprinter Veronica Campbell Brown retires

Kingston, Jamaica: Jamaican track and field sprinter Veronica Campbell Brown announced her retirement on Wednesday. She won back-to-back Olympic 200m titles to lead Jamaica's rise to the top of global sprinting, declared her retirement on the night of Jamaica's Olympic Trials.Jamaica Prime Minister Andrew Holness also released a statement following Campbell's retirement. "Our beloved Veronica Campbell Brown (Veronica Campbell Brown), who we affectionately call VCB, announced her retirement. As she hangs up her running shoes, we tip our hats to her. Many of us recall her stunning victories, and it fills us with pride. VCB delighted us with her many impressive races, her passion for the sport, and her humility." stated Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness.PM Holness stated that with over 18 Olympic and World Championships medals, VCB is one of the most decorated female athletes.  "She has long been a philanthropist and an avid advocate for gender equality in the sport, and we salute her both for her athleticism and her humanity. Thank you, VCB, for your invaluable contribution to Track and Field and for making an entire nation proud." stated the Jamaican PM, Andrew Holness.Campbell-Brown ran at five Olympics from 2000 to 2016, winning eight medals which is an Olympic women's track and field record. She beat 18-year-old Allyson Felix in 2004 for gold in Athens, becoming Jamaica's first Olympic flat sprint champion in 28 years. Even in 2008, she beat Felix and won a silver medal in the games. Campbell-Brown exceeded 100m, gaining a world title in 2007 and Olympic bronze medals in 2004 and 2012.She was praised with a statue in a park outside the National Stadium in Kingston, Jamaica and other champions from her era — Usain Bolt, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, and Asafa Powell. Campbell-Brown belongs to the same neighbourhoods as Bolt and went to the same high school as Olympic athlete Merlene Ottey.