Summer Washington’s 2024/25 season was one of the best of her career – three personal bests across indoor and outdoor, plus the third-fastest 400m hurdles time in Charlotte 49ers’ history. Fans had every reason to expect even more from her senior season. But in a shock twist, her 12-year career has ended in medical retirement.

The 22-year-old confirmed the news on her official Instagram page. She revealed that a hip labral tear forced her into medical retirement.

“After much prayer, i’ve made the difficult but peaceful decision to medically retire from Track, due to a hip labral tear,” Washington wrote on Instagram. “For the past 12 years, this sport has been such a huge part of my life and i’m beyond grateful for every lesson, blessing, and opportunity God has bestowed upon me. Thank you to everyone who has ever supported, encouraged, and believed in me along the way. 🤍”

For the unversed, a hip labral tear is damage to the ring of cartilage on the “outside rim of the hip joint socket”. It essentially acts as a rubber seal to help hold the thighbone securely in place, making it an essential tool for athletes. More specifically, NFL, soccer, ballet, and track-and-field athletes are at the highest risk of developing hip labral tears.

For sprinters and hurdlers, in particular, they need explosiveness and rotation, which means that pain during any of those movements will hinder them. While it’s not usually a career-ender for most athletes, some exceptions force medical retirement, especially in cases where it raises the risk of long-term arthritis in the affected athlete.

It marks the end of a promising career, especially on the back of Summer Washington’s 2024/25 season. The 22-year-old thrived for the Charlotte 49ers’ track and field team, competing in ten meets across the outdoor and indoor seasons.

She ended up running the third-fastest time in the 400m hurdles, slowly climbing up the rankings over the season. It started with her breaking into the top ten after her race at the 2024 Charlotte Invitational.

There, Washington clocked 1:00.55 to move up to seventh on the Charlotte 49ers’ all-time list. Then, less than twenty days later, the now 22-year-old registered 59.80 to move into third place. That was alongside personal bests in the 60m (8.64) and 300m (41.02) races. It was a promising end to the season, with fans hoping to see the 22-year-old continue to thrive.

Unfortunately, it appears her injury kept her out of the 2025/26 season. It likely started when she missed the indoor season and did not compete in any meets. Summer Washington did return for the outdoor season, with her on the list for the 2026 Charlotte Invitational. She was slated to run in the hurdles, but withdrew for reasons unknown.

However, Washington’s story is far from an isolated one. In recent years, several collegiate track and field athletes have also seen promising careers cut short after injuries forced them into medical retirement.

Summer Washington not the only athlete to medically retire

While some athletes go on to enjoy long and storied careers, track and field is filled with promising careers cut short for myriad reasons. For most, that happens to be medical issues with recurring injuries and persistent pain, often one of the main causes. Summer Washington proves that rather aptly, and so does Kate Murphy, who retired at just 19 in 2019.

The former Lake Braddock High School star was arguably one of the most accomplished runners of her generation going into college. She was a four-time state champion, a World Junior champion, and holds one of the fastest 5k times in high school history. Doctors diagnosed and treated her for popliteal artery entrapment, which forced her into medical retirement.

Glynis Sim is another example, because the runner had to retire after just one NCAA season with the Arizona State Sun Devils. A catalogue of injuries, including recurring stress injuries, meant that she had no choice but to step back from the track. 

“I went down there with a stress fracture and then continued to have these re-occurring stress injuries for about a year-and-a-half,” Sim told Varsity Letters in 2021.

“It was quite difficult, and in the end, it wasn’t my decision to stop. The medical team there, they had found five different bone-stress injuries, so they had to medically disqualify me.”

However, unlike Murphy, Sim returned to the track four years later, making her comeback in 2021. It does mark a potential future for Washington, although only time will tell whether she returns to the sport in another capacity. What is certain is that one of Charlotte’s most promising hurdlers won’t get the senior season many expected her to have.