Sprint champ Greene in shock retirement
US sprinter Maurice Greene yesterday announced he was hanging up his spikes after an illustrious track career to concentrate on coaching and music.
The former Olympic and world champion (pictured) said niggling injuries were hampering his training.
'It's a little sad for me but it's happy at the same time because I've had a great career,' he said. 'I've done a lot of great things. For the last couple of years I've had nagging injuries that have stopped my training. So I think it's better to just call it quits.'
Greene, 33, dropped the bombshell at an athletics exhibition in Beijing. He set a world record for 100 metres in 1999 which stood until 2002, and won gold at the Sydney Olympics in 2000. He was 100m world champion in 1997, 1999 and 2001 and won the 200 and 4x100 relay golds at Seville in 1999.
