BERLIN, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- German Olympic champion Jonas Reckermann said Thursday that he will retire from beach volleyball due to back problems.

Reckermann announced his retirement on the website of the German Volleyball Federation "decision is very difficult for me for various reasons, but you can't buy health and that's the most important thing at the end of the day."

The 33-year-old German, who won the Olympic gold medal with his partner Julius Brink at the London Games, underwent a successful operation on his shoulder in October, but scans in December showed a cyst in his spinal canal which was pressing on a nerve in the lower back.