Olympic high jump champ Beitia retires

Rio 2016 Olympic high jump champion Ruth Beitia is retiring from the sport due to a series of injuries suffered this year.

Olympic high jump champion Ruth Beitia will retire after enduring a series of injuries this year. (AAP)

Olympic high jump champion Ruth Beitia says she is retiring after enduring a series of injuries this year.

The 38-year-old Spaniard made the announcement on Wednesday while donating the gold medal she won at the Rio 2016 Olympics to a sports museum in the northeastern city of Santander.

Speaking alongside her longtime coach, Ramon Torralbo, Beitia said she was leaving her life as an athlete after competing for many years and taking her "body to the limit in many occasions."

Beitia tumbled out early in the high jump final at the world championships in London, and also struggled in the Diamond League.

In 2016, she won Olympic gold along with a European championship title and the Diamond League.

Her efforts in Rio earned Beitia a nomination for the prestigious Laureus Sports awards, in the category of World Comeback of the Year.