Suzanne Harmes, whose career paralleled Dutch sensation Verona van de Leur's but lasted longer, has retired from gymnastics, Dutch media reported Monday.
Together, Harmes and van der Leur are the only two Dutch female gymnasts to have won World medals on floor (van der Leur won silver in 2002, Harmes bronze in 2005). And though van de Leur has more often been in the spotlight for good and bad reasons, Harmes has helped hold the Dutch women's team together for the past several years.
While she hasn't been as internationally recognized as some other "older" female international stars, 25-year-old Harmes has accomplished something few other 20-something gymnasts her age have: making an Olympic Games after giving birth.
Harmes won the Dutch women's only spot to the Athens Olympics at the Dutch Nationals in June 2008, less than 13 months after having son Lugano. She finished 32nd all-around in Beijing.
"It's been difficult to let go of something I've enjoyed doing my entire life," she was quoted as saying in the Dutch media. "It's unrealistic for me to pursue participating in the London Olympics. I am satisfied with what I have accomplished in gymnastics...it's time I build a new life."
Harmes, who appeared to be the Dutch team's mother figure at the Rotterdam World Championships despite a spunky short avant-garde hairstyle, intends to pursue teaching and has declared an intention to raise her son as a gymnast. Harmes's departure leaves the field open for a new generation of Dutch stars, including Celine van Gerner, Tess Moonen, Sanne Wevers, Marlies Rijken and Yvette Moshage.
Related: Suzanne Harmes's bronze-medal winning floor exercise from the 2005 Worlds is here.
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