France - sport

Swimmer Manaudou calls it quits

Article published on the 2009-09-18 Latest update 2009-09-18 12:17 TU

Laure Manaudou
(Photo :Reuters)

Olympic swimming champion and darling of the French sports scene, Laure Manaudou, announced that she was retiring from swimming in an interview published Friday morning.

“It’s decided. I’m stopping. This wasn’t an easy decision to take,” said the 22-year-old in Le Parisien Friday.

Manaudou won the gold medal for XX at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, when she was only 17-years-old. Since then she has accumulated more medals than any other French swimmer.

The attention showered on the young swimmer from Amberieu-en-Bugey, a small town in the French Alps near the Swiss border, visibly affected Manaudou, who became one of France’s most sought-after celebrities.

She left her trainer Philippe Lucas in May 2007 and <went to swim in Italy. She returned to France earlier this year, but has not enjoyed the success that propelled her into fame early in her career.