PARALYMPIC and Commonwealth Games medallist Micky Yule has retired from powerlifting after winning a medal in front of friends and family.
The athlete had twice finished just off the podium in fourth spot but secured bronze at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games last year.
With the Paralympic Games taking place in Paris next summer, Yule had originally refused to rule out competing on the global stage once again.
However, he has now confirmed he has stepped away from the sport and will focus on his career in investment banking.
READ MORE: Commonwealth Games delight for Micky Yule at third attempt
The former soldier said: “Obviously, I have been in the games so long that I look at it and go ‘will there be the same atmosphere in Paris [compared to Birmingham]?’ No, there will not.
“I have done Rio and Tokyo under the pandemic.
“Even Rio, one thing that is known for Scottish and British athletes, you get a home games, Commonwealth Games or Olympic, and it is the biggest and most passionate crowd.
“I lifted in Rio in front of 200 people; you get more people at the UK Championships.
“You are never going to have that moment again and I would never be able to do it front of family and friends again.”
In 2010, Yule lost both of his legs after stepping on an improvised explosive device (IED) while serving in Afghanistan.
He was flown home to Birmingham, where he began a gruelling journey towards recovery and, fittingly, sporting success in the same city last year.
His final major competition also saw him alongside Kirsty Gilmour carrying the Saltire at the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games.
Yule, originally from Wallyford, explained the “buzz” from powerlifting and likened it to when he was in the Armed Forces.
He said: “It is only certain competitions that I really had that nervousness, excitement, adrenaline firing off your spider senses to go and lift, which I felt in the Army. I will miss that.
“It was not very often you felt that but there was a build-up to it.
“Training for a competition, coming out and you knew it would peak at some point.
“I will not have that same adrenaline rush that you can only find in certain circumstances.”
Yule, who turned 44 last month, had started preparing for life away from the sport ahead of the Tokyo Paralympic Games.
READ MORE: Micky Yule has 'unfinished business' at Commonwealth Games
He told Courier Sport that there was a time when he thought the international event would not take place due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Then, last summer, he was offered a full-time job with the largest investment bank in the world, JP Morgan.
He said: “I was full-time working from 8am to 6pm and then, the last two months up to the Games, I was training 7-9pm in my garage.
“It was a bit stressful but certainly long-term this was an opportunity that I will not get again.
“I will always train but I know I will never have that buzz again.”
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