Rising cycling talent Anna Shackley has been forced to retire due to heart issues.

Shackley, 22, was diagnosed with cardiac arrhythmia in January and has been advised to retire after further testing.

“To say I'm devastated would be a huge understatement,” Shackley said, according to BBC.

“The Scot is the reigning British Under-23 road race champion and won bronze in the under-23 event at last year's World Championships in Glasgow,” the outlet noted.

Anna Shackley, one of Britain's most talented young cyclists, has been forced to retire aged 22 because of heart issues.
The Scot is the reigning British Under-23 road race champion and won bronze in the under-23 event at last year's World Championships in Glasgow.
She was… pic.twitter.com/lKeje1IlTc

— “Sudden And Unexpected” (@toobaffled) April 17, 2024

“Cycling has been my entire life for as long as I can remember and unfortunately it has come to a premature ending. It’s been an incredibly fun time with many ups and downs all while meeting some of my closest friends and travelling the world,” Shackley wrote on Instagram.

“I had many plans and ambitions for the future and that being taken away from me has been very hard. However, I count myself lucky to have had the unique experience of being a professional in hobby. Wee Anna would never have believed that,” she continued.

Ah god, Anna Shackley's instagram post has me weeping, it's obviously so important that her health comes first but just finding out the thing you've dedicated your whole life to is just over, just like that, must be unbelievably hard to adjust to 😭💔 pic.twitter.com/qFWQKSY780

— Katy M (@writebikerepeat) April 16, 2024

Per BBC:

Shackley competed for Team GB at the Tokyo Olympics as a 20-year-old and won under-23 silver at the European Championships.

Further notable results include finishing 13th in the general classification at the Giro d'Italia and seventh overall at the Tour de Romandie.

“Everyone at British Cycling is sorry to hear that Anna Shackley has had to retire from elite competition on medical grounds. Having competed as part of the Great Britain Cycling Team since 2019, Anna has provided many magical moments on the bike, with her most recent achievements including becoming under-23 National Road Race Champion last year, a fantastic under-23 silver at the European Road Championships and claiming GB's final medal of the Glasgow 2023 World Championships,” British Cycling commented.

“Anna has delivered some fantastic results for GB, from junior level and throughout her career and was a real rising star in the British ranks,” Chris Newton, who coached Shackley while she represented the Great Britain Cycling Team, said.

Everyone at British Cycling is sorry to hear that Anna Shackley has had to retire from elite competition on medical grounds.

Having competed as part of the Great Britain Cycling Team since 2019, Anna has provided many magical moments on the bike, with her most recent… pic.twitter.com/0oTifjZ2S0

— British Cycling (@BritishCycling) April 16, 2024

From Cycling News:

Shackley last competed with SD Worx-Protime at the 2023 European Championships, where she was second in the under-23 women's road race in September.

SD Worx-Protime stated that she was first diagnosed with cardiac arrhythmia in January. She then underwent a heart screening in Maxima Medisch Centrum in Veldhoven in collaboration with the SD Worx-Protime's medical team, where doctors found several irregularities.

At this point, Shackley was taken off the bike and underwent extensive tests and procedures at the hospital in Barcelona.

Shackley is from Milngavie, north of Glasgow in Scotland, and was a graduate of British Cycling’s Performance Pathway Academy, which is focused on developing the nation’s top talents.

Shackley, now 22, began racing at the junior level with success, finishing third overall at the Watersley Ladies Challenge, a UCI-sanctioned Nations Cup, along with finishing 12th in the junior road race at the World Championships.

She then turned professional with SD Worx in 2021 when she was 19 years old and competed with British Cycling at the Tokyo Olympic Games in the road race and time trial.