‘My only regret is that I have not fully demonstrated my value’: Chinese Olympic champion He Zi retires at 26
He reluctantly retires citing a nagging foot injury and her joy at expecting to become a mother this year
Chinese Olympic diving champion He Zi has reluctantly retired aged 26 citing a nagging foot injury and her joy at expecting to become a mother this year.
He, who won gold in the synchronised 3-metre springboard competition at the 2012 London Olympics, said she had taken an 11-month break after the 2016 Rio Games.
But she said on her Weibo microblogging account that her injury returned recently after a three-hour walk and she could not even step on the floor barefoot after staying home for five days.
“Don’t ask me why I choose to leave this early under such good condition, or whether I would regret or feel pity, my only regret is that I have not fully demonstrated my value.”
“I have fought for this diving career for 20 years and I should start fighting for my own small family from now on. Last year I was an athlete but this year I am a wife and going to be a mother,” He wrote on Weibo.