Australian Olympic hurdles gold medallist Sally Pearson has opened up about a string of injuries that have prompted her retirement less than a year out from the Tokyo Olympics.

Key points: Athletics Australia and the Australian Olympic Committee have paid tribute to Sally Pearson for her 16-year international career

Athletics Australia and the Australian Olympic Committee have paid tribute to Sally Pearson for her 16-year international career The sprinter and 100m hurdler has announced her retirement, after suffering a "series of leg injuries" ahead of the world titles and next year's Olympics

The sprinter and 100m hurdler has announced her retirement, after suffering a "series of leg injuries" ahead of the world titles and next year's Olympics The Queenslander won silver and gold in the 100m hurdles at successive Olympics in 2008 and 2012, and won the world and Commonwealth Games titles twice

Speaking to the media in Sydney, Pearson said a hamstring injury five weeks ago, then Achilles tightness proved the final straw.

"The Achilles flared up and that was it. It hit boiling point and because of last year and 2018 I wasn't going through that pain again. That was too much to take," she said.

"At the end of the day, it was wearing me down as a person as well. I was unhappy and cranky all the time. I just wasn't a nice person to be around.

"For me, [I hope] just to get my life back now and hopefully no more injuries."

The 32-year-old has battled persistent injury problems in recent years. Her hope was to get to next month's world championships in Qatar, before setting herself for the Tokyo Olympics.

But it was not to be. The veteran athlete said the last few days had been "really sad" as she came to terms with her impending retirement from the sport she loved.

"I've known for a week now that I was going to be doing this. The first day I was deciding this with tears in my eyes and a lump in my throat," she said.

"That was really hard to take. I knew it was the right decision. Making a decision about something that has been a part of my life for 20 years was hard to understand in a way.

"What do I do now? How do I announce myself to people, I'm a former athlete now? It is hard to take."

Pearson claimed silver at the Beijing Olympics, before going one better in London. ( Reuters: Lucy Nicholson )

Asked about her future, Pearson said there were many paths she could take.

"It is going to be hard to find something that's going to excite me as much as my sport did and as much as my competing did for me because it was who I was and I enjoyed every minute of it," she said.

"Being down on the track with 80,000 people in the stands was my most peaceful moments [sic]. Being down there, having no-one in my ear telling me what I had to do and 'make sure you look after yourself here, stretch, recover'.

"It was nice to be in my comfort zone. Now I have broken through the bubble, it is normal life now. What do I do?".

Pearson won gold in the 100 metres hurdles at the 2012 London Olympics, after winning silver four years earlier in Beijing.

She also won two Commonwealth Games gold medals, and two world championship titles.

Rebound after Rio was 'proudest moment'

While gold in London represents the pinnacle of her career, but Pearson said another moment was almost as special, when she won gold at the 2017 world titles after missing the Rio Olympics with a torn hamstring.

"I would like to say that the Olympic Games in 2012 was my most favourite memory but I must say 2017 world championships for me was something that I proved to myself that I could still do it," she said.

"Even through the hard slog that I went through, I was still able to come back and be the victor at a major world championships.

"For me, that was my most proudest moment, for me as an athlete and coach because I was coaching myself. The London Olympics, though will always take my heart."

Pearson says her comeback win at the 2017 world titles was one of her favourite memories. ( AP: Matthias Schrader )

Pearson 'marked her place in history'

Olympian finalist and former world indoor champion, Melinda Gainsford-Taylor, said Pearson would leave an "incredible legacy" on the sport, given her achievements over her 16-year representative career.

"She is the most successful track and field athlete we've had in a very long time," Gainsford-Taylor said.

"We will desperately miss her, for sure, in Australian track and field because she's been an absolute joy to watch over the years."

Two-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist Jane Flemming said Pearson had proven to be an outstanding role model.

"She has really marked her place in history and has left a fantastic legacy and example for a whole lot of other junior women, and junior track and field women as well, to follow in her foot steps," she said.

Australian Olympic Committee chief executive Matt Carroll paid tribute to Pearson after her announcement, congratulating her on a "wonderful career".

Pearson shows off her Olympic gold medal at the London Games. ( Reuters: Eddie Keogh )

"Sally has set standards that make her a role model for all aspiring athletes. She did not accept compromises or settle for half-measures," he said in a statement.

"These qualities made her an Olympic champion as a hurdler and an Australian champion as a hurdler and a sprinter.

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"Ultimately, those qualities also drove her to a decision to retire.

"While we are enormously disappointed that Sally will not be going to Tokyo 2020, we understand when an athlete honestly assesses the future and makes that difficult decision to call time."

The Queenslander — who was born Sally McLellan in Sydney in 1986 — was spotted by coach Sharon Hannan at a Little Athletics carnival in Townsville at the age of 12.

Two years later, she won the under-20 women's 100m at the Australian national titles while still only 14.

Although she started as a sprinter, she became known largely for her performances over hurdles.

At the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games, Pearson made the final of the 100m hurdles, but she tripped on a hurdle, ending her medal chances.

She won her first major championship medal in Beijing at the 2008 Olympic Games, where she finished with silver after a photo-finish in a race remembered for American star Lolo Jones hitting the second-last hurdle while leading.