BRUSSELS, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- A knee injury has prematurely ended the career of Belgian judoka Ann Simons, VRT news reported Wednesday.

Simons' finest hour came when she took bronze at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney. She also twice came third in the European Judo Championships.

Simons had the cartilage removed from her right knee at the end of last year. The operation was the last hope of saving her career. But sadly it was not to be.

"I've spent eight months trying to get my knees into good enough shape to compete again. But it was hopeless. It was one battle that I couldn't win," she told VRT.

There was a very real possibility that her injury would return,if Simons had decided to carry on competing at the highest level.

The Olympic bronze medalist is going for a radical career change. She is to take up a post as a math lecturer at the Free University of Brussels.

"The doctors gave me a one-in-two chance in January. I was born with an abnormality which means that my kneecaps sometimes become dislodged. This is why I suffered so many cartilage injuries," Simons explained. Enditem