Sporting Life

For Hamilton, retirement surely must wait awhile

There's a place past "great" called "singular", which is where Lewis Hamilton wants to be. PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
There's a place past "great" called "singular", which is where Lewis Hamilton wants to be. PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
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Young men sniffle and can't speak and strong women brush away tears with calloused hands. Of all the acts in the grand opera that is sport, retirement can be the most dramatic. Maybe injury has visited, exhaustion has set in or skill has dimmed. Either way what set them apart is being broken apart.

It is a time of insecurity, uncertainty, reflection and lies. Some untruths make you grin, some are just plain cheap. When retirement is turned into a negotiation for pay or a Conor McGregor manoeuvre, it's simply demeaning and boring.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on November 07, 2020, with the headline Sporting Life: For Hamilton, retirement surely must wait awhile. Subscribe