SYDNEY: Australian triple Olympian Libby Trickett retired from swimming yesterday, after struggling to return to form following a wrist injury.
The 28-year-old won her fourth gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics as part of the women’s 4x100m freestyle relay team.
But she has struggled to recover from a ligament strain suffered eight months ago and said yesterday she would retire from the sport.
“There will always be a tinge of sadness to leave the sport that I love, but I have wonderful memories and experiences to draw upon in the future,” she said.
“I feel at peace with my decision and most importantly I feel that I am finally ready to take on the next adventure in my life.”
Trickett won her first major international medal in 2003 at the FINA World Championships in Barcelona where she won bronze in the 50m freestyle.
She took gold the following year at the 2004 Athens Games as part of the 4x100m freestyle relay and went on to win 13 gold medals over the 2005 and 2007 World Championships and the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.
In the 2008 at the Olympics in Beijing she won gold in the 100m butterfly and in the 4x100m medley relay.
Swimming Australia chief executive Mark Anderson praised her dedication to the sport.
“Libby’s performances and success across three Olympics and the Commonwealth Games demonstrate her quality as both an athlete and competitor,” said Anderson.
“In addition to her many achievements in the pool, Libby will be remembered by all Australians as a great ambassador for our sport and our country.”
Trickett, who retired once before, in late 2009, but came back the following year to qualify for her third Olympic Games, will pursue a career in the media.
LAUSANNE: Glasgow would be the ideal safe pair of hands to award the hosting of the 2018 Youth Olympic Games British Olympic Association (BOA) president Sebastian Coe said in Lausanne yesterday.
Glasgow, who will host the Commonwealth Games, next year, are competing against the Colombian city of Medellin and Argentinian capital Buenos Aires.
They will learn their fate after the final presentations to International Olympic Committee (IOC) members today.
Coe, the mastermind behind the tremendously successful hosting of the London Olympics last year, said the Youth Olympic Games, the brainchild of IOC president Jacques Rogge, was still finding its feet and Glasgow could take it a step further in developing.
“The Youth Olympic Games is still young (the first was in Singapore in 2010), its’ roots are not very deep,” said Coe, who will be accompanied in the presentation by among others a 15-year-old girl Elizabeth Pollard.
“I would equate it to a young person still using stabilisers on a bike, and who are not quite ready to take them off.
“It’s not a criticism.”
Jacques Rogge said it would take time.
“Glasgow can help in this process. It is a safe, warm and welcoming city and can really connect with youth.”
Coe, who was also the driving force behind the successful London bid for the 2012 Games, said that the Youth Olympic Games were not just about sport.
“Glasgow is a wonderful city, I’m not going to pretend I’m Glaswegian, but I know it well. The city understands sport and it also understands how sport can help in society,” he said.
REUTERS
