Helene Ripa ends her career – the successful Paralympian on what lies ahead: “Will not sit still”

Helene Ripa is now ending her professional career.
The announcement from one of Sweden’s most successful Paralympians comes after a career that spanned four decades.
– It’s an idea that has actually grown, Ripa says to SVT.

When Helene Ripa, 52, was 14 years old when she was forced to have her right leg amputated as a result of a cancer diagnosis. But there was nothing that stopped her from investing in a sports career. 38 years later, she has two Olympic medals and six World Cup medals in two different sports. Now her sports career is over.

Helene Ripa’s end

Among other things (!) Ripa has competed, and had the greatest success, in swimming, cross-country skiing and canoeing. She has participated in four Paralympic Games: Barcelona 1992, Sochi 2014, Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020. Ripa describes the pinnacle of her career as taking home a silver and a gold in cross-country skiing at the 2014 Sochi Paralympics.

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Ripa says that the idea of ​​ending her career is something that emerged after the Paralympics and WC 2021.
– I have had problems with my back and have had some previous problems and had to have back surgery last spring. Then there was a 9-12 month ban on paddling, and somewhere during that time the thought “is it worth it?” was raised. My body is getting tired, I am over 50 years old. If you want to do something like this, the body and the bud really have to be there, she tells SVT.