Olympic beach volleyball champion Reckermann to retire

Reckermann announced his retirement on the website of the German Volleyball Federation Thursday.

"The decision is very difficult for me for various reasons, but you can't buy health and that's the most important thing at the end of the day," he was quoted as saying by Xinhua.

The 33-year-old, who won the Olympic gold medal with Julius Brink at the 2012 London Games, underwent a successful shoulder operation in October, but scans in December showed a cyst in his spinal canal which was pressing on a nerve in the lower back.