Zhang Guowei is in action during the men's high jump qualification on Day 8 of the 2017 IAAF World Championships in London, Britain, on Aug. 11, 2017. (Xinhua/Luo Huanhuan)
Chinese star high jumper Zhang Guowei announced retirement.
BEIJING, April 6 (Xinhua) -- China's star high jumper Zhang Guowei has made the decision to retire, the 28-year-old athlete confirmed on Sunday.
"Sorry, I can't jump anymore, I've decided to retire," Zhang wrote on his Weibo, China's Twitter-like social media platform, without disclosing further details surrounding his decision.
Born in east China's Shandong Province, Zhang was well known for his playful style among track and field fans. In 2013, he cleared 2.32 meters to break Zhu Jianhua's 27-year-old national indoor record.
In 2015, Zhang recorded his personal best performance as he cleared the bar at 2.38m in the IAAF Diamond League, just 0.01m shy of the national record of 2.39m also held by Zhu. In the same year, Zhang also won the silver medal at the Beijing World Championships.
In recent years, however, Zhang struggled to regain his form following a series of injuries, including his failure to make it into the final round at Rio 2016. ■