She is Britain’s most successful swimmer with a haul that included two Olympic gold medals and two bronzes, two World Championship titles, four Commonwealth Games medals and three European, as well as the world record for 800 metres freestyle, which she set at Beijing.
But she he has barely looked back after quitting and came to terms with the end of her career as an athlete almost immediately.
She said: “It took me a day. You think I’m joking, I’m not at all. I just was so ready. There’s not one per cent of me that wishes I was in the pool. I have no regrets. I was ready and I really am very lucky it was 100 per cent me saying ‘no, I’m done’.
“I just didn’t enjoy the racing any more.
“I don’t love the competition, I am not competitive so I guess that is why I don’t miss that element one bit,
“I much preferred the training, which in swimming is 99 per cent of the sport.
“If anything I miss the training, not the competing.â€
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