"The story of Chinese diving didn't start with me and it won't end with me."
Wu's three metres synchronised springboard gold, with partner Shi Tingmao, at the Rio de Janeiro Games in August made her the oldest woman to win an Olympic diving gold medal.
Winner of a record seven diving medals from four Olympics, Wu had already said Rio 2016 would likely be her last Games. She revealed that a nasty leg injury in May had made her contemplate giving up even before she went to Brazil.
News that makes sense
Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.
"I am really sorry, but my physical condition does not allow me to continue training," Wu told China's national broadcaster CCTV during a live stream.
"I really feared the coming of today."
(Reporting by Shravanth Vijayakumar in Bengaluru and Elias Glenn in Beijing, editing by Alan Baldwin)
