SWIMMING SPORT - Australia's James Magnussen has retired from the pool after a roller-coaster career featuring world domination, Olympic heartbreak and a sleeping pill scandal that embarrassed the nation's swimming community.
A towering, muscular swimmer, Magnussen became Australia's first world champion in the blue riband 100 metres freestyle at Shanghai in 2011 and defended the title two years later at Barcelona.
In between, he would claim two medals at the London Olympics but not the gold he desperately wanted when he was pipped by American 100m winner Nathan Adrian by 0.01 seconds.
A shoulder injury and the emergence of compatriots Cameron McEvoy and Kyle Chalmers saw Magnussen fade out of the picture behind but he battled back to grab a second relay bronze at Rio in 2016 and a third relay gold at last year's Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast.
"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 said in a statement on Wednesday.
Born and raised in the seaside town of Port Macquarie, Magnussen broke into Australia's formidable 100m freestyle relay in 2010 at the age of 18 and grabbed a Pan Pacifics silver and a gold at the Delhi Commonwealth Games later that year.
He was barely out of his teen years when he stormed to the individual world title in Shanghai and anchored Australia's relay gold with a lead-off swim of 47.49 seconds, smashing Dutch great Pieter van den Hoogenband's record in a non-synthetic suit.
