Pole vaulter Katerina Badurova retiring

Czech pole vaulter Katerina Badurova, a silver medal winner at the Osaka world athletics championships in 2007, announced her retirement from the sport Friday. The 27-year-old recently suffered damage to internal knee ligaments. A scan which revealed the full extent of her injury prompted her to make the decision. Badurova finished 12th in the Olympic pole vault competition at Athens in 2004, and finished second in the worlds in 2007 with a jump of 4.75 m. She failed to qualify for the 2008 Olympic Games after suffering ruptures to knee ligaments in January of that year.