NATHAN Douglas revealed the death of his grandmother three years ago contributed to his decision to retire.

The Oxford City AC triple-jumper will end his storied career at the British Championships in Manchester this weekend.

Douglas will be aiming for his ninth national title to add to a CV that also boasts two European Championship silver medals and two appearances at the Olympic Games.

It all started aged seven at Oxford City, when he first told his grandmother he wanted to be an Olympian.

And Douglas admits it has not felt quite right competing without her watching on.

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The 39-year-old said: “In all honesty, my motivation probably hasn’t been where I needed it to be.

“My nan passed away in 2019 and she was a rock for me my whole life.

“That’s left a huge gap in my life and I think I’m still managing that process.

“Competing without her doesn’t feel the same, so I think it’s definitely the right time to be saying goodbye.”

When Douglas announced his retirement plan back in February, his intention was to finish at the end of 2022.

At that point, he was hoping to participate in his fourth Commonwealth Games, which starts at the end of next month.

The competition is based in Birmingham, the city Douglas calls his ‘adopted home’ after living there for the best part of two decades.

Calling time on his career earlier than planned was always going to be a tough decision, but the veteran is content he has made the right call.

He said: “It’s almost a battle of your own mind, because you think ‘have I got the motivation, and move to the next chapter of my life?’

“No doubt it’s pulling me that way and I want it to be like that.

“But I was so close that I had to give it one last go – I didn’t want any kind of regrets.

“I’m happy to leave it here knowing I’ve done everything in my power to perform.

“When I look back I can be proud of what I’ve been able to achieve.

“I’ve always wanted to make Oxford proud and hopefully I’ve been able to do that as well.”

Oxford Mail: Nathan Douglas on his way to taking silver in the men’s triple jump final at the British Athletics Indoor Championships in February 2019. Picture: Martin Rickett/ PA WireNathan Douglas on his way to taking silver in the men’s triple jump final at the British Athletics Indoor Championships in February 2019. Picture: Martin Rickett/ PA Wire

Douglas won the first of his eight British Championship titles in Manchester 18 years ago, so it is a fitting location for his final competition.

The two-time Olympian goes for triple jump gold at 1.02pm on Sunday and he is determined to finish on a high.

He said: “Now I know I’m retiring, people want to speak to you about those sorts of memories.

“A little bit of nostalgia is coming in. Manchester is the place I won my first British Championships, all the way back in 2004.

“Memories are going to creep in, but for sure I want to go out there and perform so I’ll be looking to do so.”