“As soon as I get my hopes up that I can increase my training load, old injuries come back and say, ‘No, let’s take a step back and go easy again.’ But what top athlete wants to take it easy?” Eva-Lotta Kiibus on her decision to retire
Estonian figure skater Eva-Lotta Kiibus announced her retirement, citing persistent injuries and a lack of return for her efforts, and is now seeking a new identity beyond the sport.
original source: sport.err.ee dd. November 18th 2025 by Grete Lobu
Eva-Lotta Kiibus, who placed seventh at the 2020 European Championships, announced her retirement from figure skating on Tuesday. The two-time Estonian champion told ETV’s “Ringvaade” that she gave a lot to the sport in recent years but did not get enough in return. Here’s a translation of an article and comments posted on ERR.
“I’ve always known that elite sport is hard, very demanding, and there’s always something that can hurt,” Kiibus said on “Ringvaade” Tuesday. “Before the Olympics and in the years after: you give something to the sport and hope to get something back, but if you just keep giving and get nothing in return… starting with results, your own well-being, development – everything that makes up the whole package in sport. If you’re always just giving and nothing comes back, you end up in the red.”
According to Kiibus, old injuries have continued to haunt her. “As soon as I get my hopes up that I can increase my training load, old injuries come back and say, ‘No, let’s take a step back and go easy again.’ But what top athlete wants to take it easy?” Kiibus asked.
Three years ago, Kiibus moved to the Netherlands and began training under Thomas Kennes. “In the end, I wouldn’t blame any coach or place – my current coach has been fantastic and the right coach for me. I sought help from sports doctors and psychologists to get the whole package working. I’m not a quitter, I don’t want to give up. When it’s your life’s work, letting go seemed completely impossible,” she added.
At the Beijing Winter Olympics, Kiibus finished 20th and told “Ringvaade” that she had still hoped to compete emotionally at the Milan-Cortina Olympics this year. “In the spring, I was ready to go through anything to do it one more time. Rationally, I had to sit down and think about what was possible and what wasn’t. With my coach’s help, I wrote down very clearly what points were necessary, what needed to be done, and the math didn’t look good or give much hope,” Kiibus admitted.
“I wanted to do elite sport, but you can’t surpass yourself if you can’t train as you should. I didn’t have the mental or physical resources to even continue at smaller competitions. It wouldn’t have been worth it,” Kiibus continued. So who is Eva-Lotta Kiibus without skating? “That question caused panic, because it’s my identity. My current journey begins with finding the answer to that question,” she said.
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