Former world champion Payne retires

LONDON: Britain’s former world open-water swimming champion Keri-anne Payne announced her retirement on Monday.

Payne, 29, won world titles in 2009 and 2011 and also took the silver medal when the 10-kilometre open-water event made its Olympic debut in Beijing in 2008.

However, she was unable to add to her Olympic medal collection when competing at the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Games.

“The sport of swimming has given me life-defining experiences, helped me find joy in taking on incredible challenges and created friendships that have enriched my life,” said Payne in a statement.

“The decision to retire from competitive swimming has been made easy as I continue to chase and fuel my passion, inspiring people to share my love of open water.

“I’ve loved being part of the huge transformation in open-water swimming.

“In 2008 I had to explain what my event was, four years later I walked out in front of 30,000 fans for my race at the London 2012 Olympic Games. That was my proudest sporting moment.”