Olympic gold medalist Sally Pearson retires from track

SYDNEY (AP) — London Olympics hurdles gold medalist Sally Pearson has announced her retirement from elite track and field after failing to recover from a series of recent leg injuries.

Pearson, who won the 100-meter hurdles at London in 2012 four years after taking silver at the Beijing Games, also won world championship titles in 2011 and 2017.

The 32-year-old Pearson had hoped to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics next year, but announced the decision to retire in a statement Tuesday. She had been preparing to defend her world title in Doha next month when she had another injury setback.

“I have prided myself on always being on the start line ready to win,” Pearson said in the statement. “I no longer believe I can achieve this. I have come to the conclusion that it is time to retire from this phase of my life and move on to the next.”

In a post on Instagram, Pearson said: “It has been a long 16 years, but also a fun and exciting 16 years. My body has decided it is time to let it go, and move forward onto a new direction.”

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