Greg Rutherford retires: Olympic gold medallist and former world champion to quit at the end of the season

'Whenever I try to sprint or jump I have to take three days off because I am limping so much'

The Olympic and World Championship gold medalist said his legs ached for days after competing (Getty)

Olympic gold medallist Greg Rutherford has announced he will retire at the end of the season.

The 31-year-old long jumper who triumphed at the London 2012 games, before going on to win bronze four years later in Rio, said he hoped to compete in August’s European Championships in Berlin, before hanging up his spikes for good.

“Whenever I try to sprint or jump I have to take three days off because I am limping so much,” he told The Guardian.

He added: “In the end it wears you down.”

Rutherford, who also won gold at the 2015 World Championships in Beijing, said he was currently “in pain every single day of my life”, but he was hopeful of a good final performance in the European Championships, where he also won gold in 2016.

He also took silver in the 2010 Commonwealth Games and gold at Glasgow 2014.

He said: “I’ll be 32 later this year. I don’t want to be the old man on the team who is making up the numbers. I want people to remember me for the good times.”

In a separate post on Instagram, he said: “I’m incredibly proud of my career. I’ve achieved so much but retirement comes early to those of us for whom sport is a livelihood.

“It only feels like yesterday I was winning my first major medal but now 12 years on, I sit here as the greatest long jumper Great Britain has ever had, one of the most successful in European history and someone ready to hang the spikes up for good.”

He added: “I’m going to go for the European Championships one final time. And then I’ll also be jumping in Birmingham and London for the Diamond Leagues.

“If you fancy coming to watch me compete one last time then please do come on down and give me a wave. It’d be so great to finish with some roaring crowds.

“Thank you for all your love and support over the years.”