It had this feeling of a final exit, when Laure Manaudou on the last day of the Rijeka 2008 European Short Course Championships didn’t qualify for the women’s 200 backstroke final, placing 3rd in the prelims but also third of the French, her ‘only’ medal the bronze in the 100 backstroke. But no, after retiring in September 2009, she returned to competitive swimming in September 2011, and qualified for the London Games in 2012.
