Shanghai (AFP)
Chinese Zhang Guowei, 2015 world vice high jump champion, announced Monday that he is ending his career at 28 when the Tokyo Olympics are postponed by one year, from 2020 to 2021. .
"I'm sorry, I can't really jump anymore, so I decided to retire," he said on the Weibo social network.
Zhang caused a sensation by winning the silver medal at the 2015 Worlds in Beijing with a jump to 2.33 m, one centimeter from the Canadian Derek Drouin (2.34 m).
Since its explosion at the highest level in 2015, the year in which he set his personal best at 2.38 m, Zhang, also known for his exuberant celebrations after each successful jump, has never returned to his best level.
He finished 25th in the high jump competition at the 2016 Rio Olympics, then was held back by repeated injuries.
In March 2019, he was suspended by the Chinese Athletics Federation for violating regulations on his business activities.
© 2020 AFP