an Instagram post, external<\/a> on Thursday.<\/p>\n“I was diagnosed with a rare inherited heart condition called arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC).”<\/p>\n
ARVC is a genetic condition in which the proteins that normally hold heart muscle cells together do not work properly. <\/p>\n
This can cause heart muscle cells to die and be replaced by fatty tissue and scar tissue.<\/p>\n
It causes the walls of the heart chambers to become thin and stretched, and the heart cannot pump blood around the body properly.<\/p>\n
“My future is an incredible gift. It’s hopeful, and it will continue to have great purpose,” Simpson said.<\/p>\n
“But my diagnosis also means it would be dangerous for me to return to running. That chapter has ended. Thankfully, my story hasn’t.”<\/p>\n
Simpson won 1500m gold at the 2011 World Championships and bronze at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, and retired from competitive racing at the end of the 2024 season.<\/p>\n
“I’m profoundly grateful that I got to have the career I did,” added Simpson, who also won silver medals in the 1500m at the 2013 and 2017 World Championships.<\/p>\n
“I experienced everything – from the trenches of training to standing on the top of the podium while our national anthem filled the stadium.”<\/p>\n