Updated: September 18, 2009, 9:36 AM ET
French swimmer Manaudou retires
PARIS -- Former world and Olympic swimming champion Laure Manaudou is retiring.
"I quit. This hasn't been an easy decision to take," the 22-year-old Frenchwoman told Friday's edition of Le Parisien newspaper. "It came to me little by little. I didn't make it on impulse. It has matured slowly."
At the Beijing Olympics last year, Manaudou finished last in the final of the 400-meter freestyle, seventh in the 100-meter freestyle and was eliminated in the heats for the 200-meter backstroke.
Manaudou won Olympic gold in 2004. Her victory in the 400-meter freestyle gave France its first swimming gold in 52 years.
Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press
