BEIJING — China's triple Olympic gold medalist Yang Wei, one of the country's best performers at last year's Beijing Games, has retired from gymnastics, the official Xinhua News Agency said Thursday.

Yang took the all-around gold and led China to the men's team title in Beijing last August in one of the competitions most watched by the Chinese public.

Xinhua said Yang retired because of a left elbow injury, which became more serious as he tried to train for China's national games later this year.

Yang was quoted by Xinhua as saying it was difficult to train because of the "pain and soreness" in his elbow.

Besides the two golds in Beijing, the 29-year-old also helped China to the team title at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. He also has two Olympic silvers and seven world titles in a career spanning 13 years.

Denied an individual gold in Sydney and disappointed in the 2004 Athens Olympics by a fall from a high bar, Yang had been ready to quit at the age of 24. But he decided to continue, winning the world title in 2006 and 2007 and then the two golds in front of his fans in Beijing.

"I just wanted to end my career following the flop in Athens ... but my coach Huang Yubin persuaded me to hang on. I was eager to be part of the Beijing Olympic squad, so I said no to the thought of leaving," Yang was quoted as saying.

Xinhua said Yang did not reveal his future plans.

Born in the central province of Hubei in 1980, Yang started attending a sports school part time at the age of five, before qualifying for the national team at the age of 16.

He is married to fellow gymnast Yang Yun, a bronze medalist in the uneven bars at the Sydney Olympics.