Australian swimmer Hanson retires
Australian Olympic gold medal-winning swimmer Brooke Hanson has retired nine months before the Beijing Games start.
The 29-year-old made the decision to quit after struggling to rediscover her motivation after suffering an electric shock in a spa pool earlier this year.
Hanson said: “I now know that my heart, my mind and my body have decided it is time for the next chapter in my life.”
In 2004 she won gold in the 4×100m medley relay at the Athens Olympics and silver in the 100m breaststroke.
Hanson then collected a record six gold medals at the World Short Course Championships in Indianapolis in the same year.
She was named the most outstanding female swimmer after winning the
- 50m,
- 100m and 200m breastroke,
- 100m and 200m individual medleys
- 4×100m medley relay.