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NEW YORK, Feb. 4 (Xinhua) --U.S. five-time Olympic swimming champion Aaron Peirsol, who still owns world records in the 100m and 200m backstroke, has retired from swimming competition.
Peirsol confirmed his retirement to the Austin American-Statesman, his hometown newspaper in Texas, that he will not compete at next year's London Olympics.
"Retiring is such a strange word. I'm 27 years old. I've still got stuff to do," Peirsol told the newspaper. "But to do this right, you have got to give it 110 percent. I can't give it 110 percent any more."
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| Aaron Peirsol of the U.S. reacts to setting a new world record in the men's 100m backstroke final at the USA Swimming National Championships in Indianapolis, Indiana July 8, 2009. |
Peirsol has applied for political science graduate studies at the University of Texas, where he was a collegiate swim star.
Peirsol won three gold medals at the 2004 Athens Olympics and took the 100 backstroke gold at Beijing as well as a relay gold, but struggled when it came time to prepare for London.
"It was hard for me to reset, to find something worth going for the next year," he said.
