Australia’s James Magnussen celebrates winning the gold medal in men’s 100m Freestyle final at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, July 27, 2014. REUTERS/Jim Young (BRITAIN – Tags: SPORT SWIMMING)
MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Three-times world champion James Magnussen has retired from competitive swimming after years of battling shoulder injuries, the Australian said on Wednesday.
The 28-year-old, who claimed gold in the blue riband 100 meters freestyle events at the 2011 and 2013 world championships, said he felt the time was right.
“I have taken the time to make the best decision for myself moving forward and to do that I wanted to make sure I was in the best space mentally and physically before announcing my retirement,” he said in a statement.
“At 28 years of age I feel I could have swum at another Olympic Games, but with the lofty standards I have held myself to over the years and the high expectations I have, I believe now is the right time to step away from the sport.”
Magnussen, nicknamed “The Missile”, also claimed 100m freestyle silver and a relay bronze at the 2012 London Olympics, and a second relay bronze at Rio in 2016.
Reporting by Ian Ransom; Editing by Andrew Both