Spain’s Ruth Beitia, who in Rio became the oldest Olympic high jump champion by six years, announced her retirement at age 38 on Wednesday.
Beitia was pending medical results for possible arthritis, according to Marca.
She followed her Olympic title with silver at the European Indoor Championships in March but didn’t crack the top three at any 2017 Diamond League meet and was 12th at the world championships in August, her final meet.
Beitia capped a decorated career in Rio with her first Olympic medal. She did so against a field that did not include the reigning Olympic or world champions from Russia.
Beitia cleared 1.97 meters to win in Rio, the shortest gold-medal height since 1980, to become the oldest Olympic gold medalist in any jumping event. German long jumper Heike Drechsler previously held the age record.
Two women in the Rio heptathlon -- gold medalist Nafissatou Thiam of Belgium and Brit Katarina Johnson-Thompson -- cleared 1.98 meters in that competition.
Beitia previously retired after finishing fourth at the 2012 Olympics, then came back to win her first World Outdoor Championships medal, a bronze, in 2013.
“A medal in Rio would be the last dream I have left to accomplish in this sport,” she said before the Olympics.
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