Hong Kong marathon record holder Christy Yiu says she had to retire from racing because of a serious foot injury, saying it's painful every step she takes.

Yiu announced her early retirement last month after the World Athletics Championships in the US.

"My left foot's been hurting for too long," the runner told RTHK. "Every time I run, that spot hurts. It makes me feel down and not feel like training."

Yiu, 34, said her original plan was to compete at the Asian Games in Hangzhou this year before retiring, but that event was postponed because of Covid-19.

She said she'll hang up her running shoes for now to allow herself to heal, and that she wants to have a second child. She added that she hopes to continue running in the future, but perhaps not in top-level competition.

The Hong Kong record holder described her career as a marathon race in itself, saying she hopes she has shown that women can keep running after having children.

After taking a two-year break for the birth of her first child, she broke the Hong Kong marathon record in 2019 with a time of 2 hours, 34 minutes and 7 seconds.

Yiu pushed the record to 2 hours, 31 minutes and 24 seconds in a race in Milan last year, but her time was around two minutes short of the qualifying time for the Tokyo Olympics.