Olympic, World, European and Commonwealth gold medallist Greg Rutherford (coach: Dan Pfaff) has confirmed his plans to bring his glittering long jump career to a close at the end of the 2018 summer season.

Rutherford will go down in history as one of the greatest British athletes ever having claimed every major global and international long jump gold medal on offer during his 13 years on the runway, one of only five Britons to achieve this clean sweep of major titles.

The 31-year-old famously won Olympic gold on ‘Super Saturday’ at London 2012 alongside Jessica Ennis-Hill and Mo Farah, before picking up bronze four years later at Rio 2016, while his world title in 2015 secured his place among the greats in British sport.

Having won back-to-back European gold in 2014 and 2016, Commonwealth gold in 2014 and the world gold in Beijing in 2015, Rutherford became only the fifth British track and field athlete to hold the four major titles simultaneously.

Yet the Marshall Milton Keynes athlete is determined to end his career off the back of another competitive summer and will embark on a farewell tour starting at the British Athletics Championships at the end of the month, the Müller Anniversary Games in London in July and the Müller Grand Prix in Birmingham in August.

Three-time Olympian Rutherford will also aim to make history one more time as the first man to win long jump gold at the European Championships, to be held in Berlin, three times in a row.

Rutherford holds both the British indoor (8.26m) and outdoor (8.51m) long jump records and picked up his first major international gold medal at the European Junior Championships in 2005, a performance that sparked a glittering career.

Greg Rutherford said: “It has not been an easy decision to make, and not one that I have made lightly, but I feel it is the right time to bring my career to a close at the end of 2018. I am not getting any younger and training isn’t getting any easier and so I need to listen to my body and stop when the time is right.

“I have enjoyed so many great moments during my career and worked with and been on teams with some amazing people. I would like to thank everyone that has worked with me, in particular my coach Dan Pfaff, and those that have helped me achieve my dreams. I will never ever forget being part of Super Saturday at the London 2012 Olympic Games. I am extremely proud of everything that I have achieved on and off the runway, but that will go down as the greatest night of my athletics career.

“Making this decision now gives me enough time to compete around the country and say thank you to everyone who has supported me throughout my career. I am going to really enjoy competing for the last time on British soil and, should I get the chance, the opportunity to become the first man to win three successive European long jump titles. Once the summer is over, I am looking forward to spending time with my loving family and moving on to new challenges.”

British Athletics Performance Director Neil Black said: “Greg will go down as one of the greatest British athletes ever to have lived and it is with sadness that we will see him retire at the end of the summer season.

“Greg has been a great ambassador for the sport of athletics for over a decade. From winning gold on that memorable Super Saturday at the London 2012 Olympic Games to winning his first world title in 2015, Greg has been the model professional and an absolute pleasure to have around British teams.

“Greg’s career truly is something to be celebrated and we know he will be doing everything in his power to defend his European title in Berlin should he get the chance. At this moment in time, I wish to congratulate him on a fantastic career and the best of luck for his final events and for whatever the future holds for himself and his family.”