SOFIA, Bulgaria — Bulgarian triple jumper Tereza Marinova says she is retiring from competition due to injury, a few weeks before the Beijing Olympics.

The 30-year-old Marinova won the gold medal at the Sydney Olympics in 2000, leaping 49 feet, 10½ inches on her first attempt. She said Thursday her decision was dictated by an Achilles tendon injury that worsened over the past six months.

"This was the hardest decision in my life," Marinova said at a news conference in Sofia. "I wanted very much to take part in the competition in Beijing, but then I realized that it would not be enough for me just to be there,"

Marinova, who has won world and European titles, who was one of Bulgaria's medal hopefuls at next month's Olympics.