PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad – A chronic knee condition has forced hammer thrower Candice Scott to quit international competition but she says she has no regrets about ending her career prematurely.

"I went as far as I could," the 29-year-old told the Guardian newspaper. "I feel very good about my record and I think I was able to set an example while bringing attention to field events."

Five years ago, Scott was diagnosed with osteoarthritis, a degenerative disease which affects the joints. She said while she had continued to compete, the condition had now moved from the mild stage to moderate, the second of the three phases involved in the disease.

The final stage is the severe one and Scott said reaching that critical point would be accelerated if she continued to compete.

"It’s been getting bad recently," she said. "It’s progressing in both of my knees and the process is going to speed up if I continue to train and compete."

Scott is a Pan American Games bronze medallist after reaching the podium in the Dominican Republic seven years ago and she also captured gold at the Central American and Caribbean Championships in The Bahamas in 2005.

She finished eighth at the World Championships in Helsinki that same year but said her proudest moment was finishing ninth at the 2004 Athens Olympics.