olympics

Silvana Tirinzoni, world No. 1 in curling, retires

โ€ขYahoo Sports

Silvana Tirinzoni won Olympic silver, plus four world championships.

Swiss Silvana Tirinzoni, who leads the world's top-ranked women's curling team, is retiring from the sport at age 46. "This decision is a very difficult one," Tirinzoni wrote . "It hurts.

There are tears and it's not easy to find the right words that truly reflect how I feel. It might seem crazy to step away while being part of the number one ranked team in the world, but I feel that I've pushed myself to my absolute limits. " Tirinzoni led the Swiss women to silver at the Milan Cortina Games, falling 6-5 to Sweden in the final.

It marked Switzerland's first women's curling medal in 20 years. Tirinzoni became the oldest woman to win a Winter Olympic medal in any sport, according to Olympedia. org.

She also led teams to a record four consecutive world titles from 2019-23, including a win streak of 42 consecutive games at worlds from 2021-24. "Looking back, I can't say I enjoyed every single minute," she wrote. "That wouldn't be the truth.