MOSCOW, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Russian twice gymnastic Olympic champion Evgenia Kanaeva has retired, the sport's federation said Tuesday.
"Kanaeva has decided to finish her sporting career," the All-Russian Rhythmic Gymnastics Federation said in a statement.
Kanaeva will remain one of the seven vice-presidents of the federation, according to the statement.
Born in 1990 in a family of athletes, Kanaeva is the only rhythmic gymnast to win two Olympic all-around gold medals.
She won her first Olympic gold medal in Beijing 2008 in the women's rhythmic individual all-around final.
At the 2009 World Championship in Japan, she became the first rhythmic gymnast to win all six gold medals.
The 22-year-old expressed her intention to leave the sports arena last December saying she probably has finished her career.
"There was a choice between 'labor' in training or switching to another activity," she said, adding she wanted to learn something else besides the training process.
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