By Chris Chavez
December 27, 2023
France’s Pierre-Ambroise Bosse, the 2017 world champion at 800m, announced his retirement at 31 years old.
Here’s what you need to know:
– In 2017, world record holder and two-time Olympic champion David Rudisha missed the World Championships in London due to injury. Bosse seized upon the opportunity and closed hard in the 800m final (going from sixth to first just before the bell) to win in 1:44.67. After the race, he told reporters that the performance, “Felt like a dream.”
– Bosse underwent surgery on his right thigh last year and has had several setbacks in his comeback. He last raced in April.
– “I no longer enjoy athletics,” he told the French newspaper L’Equipe. “There is something unhealthy in this tendon. It's no longer there. The days go by. The Games are coming and at this rate, I will never be there.”
– Bosse is a three-time Olympian for France. He was a semifinalist in the 800m at the 2012 London Olympics. Four years later, he finished fourth in the final at the 2016 Olympics in Rio De Janeiro – missing the bronze medal by just 0.48 seconds. At the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, he was eliminated in the semifinals.
– He owns two European Championship bronze medals in the 800m from 2012 and 2018.
– His 800m personal best of 1:42.53 from the 2014 Monaco Diamond League is the French national record.
Chris Chavez
Chris Chavez launched CITIUS MAG in 2016 as a passion project while working full-time for Sports Illustrated. He covered the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and grew his humble blog into a multi-pronged media company. He completed all six World Marathon Majors and on Feb. 15th, 2025 finally broke five minutes for the mile.
