<p>Johnson, who ended Briton Colin Jackson's run of 44 consecutive sprint hurdles victories in 1995 and went on to dominate the event, said his 39-year-old body would not allow him to continue competing in the sport he dearly loved.<br /><br />“It's just come to the point where my body can't take it any more,” Johnson told the crowd at the Diamond League meeting in Gateshead, England, in a trackside interview.<br /><br />“My daughter was almost four years old when I won in Atlanta in 1996, now she is graduating high school,” Johnson has said last month, stressing that his hunger to compete was still there.<br /><br />“The thing about getting older is the injuries,” said Johnson. <br />“You just get injured more often. You take time off, you come back, you get injured again and you never get in shape.”</p>
<p>Johnson, who ended Briton Colin Jackson's run of 44 consecutive sprint hurdles victories in 1995 and went on to dominate the event, said his 39-year-old body would not allow him to continue competing in the sport he dearly loved.<br /><br />“It's just come to the point where my body can't take it any more,” Johnson told the crowd at the Diamond League meeting in Gateshead, England, in a trackside interview.<br /><br />“My daughter was almost four years old when I won in Atlanta in 1996, now she is graduating high school,” Johnson has said last month, stressing that his hunger to compete was still there.<br /><br />“The thing about getting older is the injuries,” said Johnson. <br />“You just get injured more often. You take time off, you come back, you get injured again and you never get in shape.”</p>