Retchakan was born in Paddington, London, England to Sri Lankan parents. She was a member of Thurrock Harriers. In 1982, representing Sri Lanka, she finished sixth in the 100 metres hurdles at the Asian Games. She emerged as one of the UK's leading 400 m hurdlers in the late 1980s. In 1989, she finished third at the AAA Championships in 57.17, and went on to be the UK's long standing second ranked 400 m hurdler to Sally Gunnell. In 1990, after finishing second at the UK Championships in 58.23, she won the first of five AAAs National titles, winning in 57.14, to earn selection for the European Championships, where she was eliminated in the heats in 57.03. In 1991, Retchakan retained her AAAs title in 56.67. At the World Championships in Tokyo. she ran below 55 seconds for the first time, with 54.95 in the heats, improving to 54.88 in the semi-finals, narrowly missing the final. The time ranked her tenth fastest in the world for 1991. In 1992, Retchakan won the UK title in 55.42 and retained the AAAs title in 55.04, to earn Olympic selection. At the Barcelona Olympics, she ran her lifetime best of 54.63 in the semi-finals, to again narrowly miss the final. She was unfortunate to miss out, as she was the seventh fastest athlete overall from the two semis. A month after the Olympics, she was selected to represent Europe at the IAAF World Cup in Havana. She ran 55.66, to finish second behind Sandra Farmer-Patrick and ahead of Margarita Ponomaryova. She was the ninth fastest in the world for 1992. Retchakan retained the UK 400 m hurdles title in 1993, running 56.62 and reached the semi-finals of the World Championships in Stuttgart, running 55.96. In 1994, she won her fourth AAAs title in 57.08 and went on to reach the 400 m hurdles finals at both the European Championships and the Commonwealth Games. At the Europeans in Helsinki, she finished eighth in 56.05. Then in Victoria, at the Commonwealth Games, she finished fifth in the final, in 56.69. She won her fifth AAAs 400 metres hurdles title in 1995, in 57.18. However, she declined selection for the World Championships. At the 1996 British Olympic Trials, she was sixth, failing to earn Olympic selection. In 1998, at the age of 38, Retchakan had one of her best career results, when she won a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur. She finished behind Andrea Blackett in 55.25, her fastest time for six years. Having ranked second in the UK for five straight years to Sally Gunnell then third in 1995, she at last achieved the UK number one ranking. As of 2016, Retchakan's best of 54.63, ranks her sixth on the UK all-time list. She also holds the UK masters records in the W35 and W40 categories. Her 55.25 in 1998, was the second fastest time ever by a veteran woman, age 35+, after Marina Stepanova. In 2000, she broke the world age 40+ record with 58.3.
Personal life
Retchakan married Athletics statistician, Ian Hodge.
