WANG JUNXIA, is close to physical and mental collapse and extremely doubtful for the World Athletics Championships in Greece later this year, a report said yesterday.

The 5,000 metres and 10,000 metres world record holder and winner of the 5,000 metres at the Atlanta Olympics is exhausted by the "longtime pressure" resulting from her successes, said Cui Dalin, director of the sports commission in Wang's home province of Liaoning in China.

Cui's remarks, published in the Xinmin Evening News, will likely fuel speculation that Wang - a national heroine in China - is on the verge of retirement.