LONDON (Reuters) - Dean Macey, Britain's best decathlete since Daley Thompson, retired on Tuesday after failing to qualify for the Beijing Olympics.

Macey ended agonisingly off the podium in fourth place at the last two Olympics where his gritty determination to overcome injuries won him many fans.

The 30-year-old former lifeguard is the Commonwealth Games champion and also managed silver and bronze medals at the 1999 and 2001 world championships.

However, after not achieving the necessary Olympic standard at a weekend event when he was handicapped by a groin strain he has decided to spare his body further punishment.

"This is the most difficult decision that I have ever had to make but if I'm being honest I don't believe that I can stay healthy any more," Macey, who once needed surgery to rebuild his elbow, said in a statement released by his agent on Tuesday.

"My heart is there, my mind is there but my body has finally given in. It's been an amazing journey over the last few years and the support that I have received has been phenomenal."

UK Athletics performance director Dave Collins said: "Everyone at UKA is gutted for Dean that he won't be going to Beijing. He is a warrior and but for injury I'm sure we would be talking about Dean Macey the Olympic champion."

Thompson was the last British man to win Olympic gold in the decathlon in 1984.

(Reporting by Martyn Herman, editing by Dave Thompson)

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