Manaudou Considered Leaving, Will Take a Break

Manaudou, who is the 200 and 400 freestyle world champion, said she had decided to stay in order to have `no regrets`.

France's Laure Manaudou, who lost her Olympic 400 metres freestyle title in Beijing, said she had considered leaving early after two disastrous finals and would take "a long break" after the Olympics.

"After the 100 metres backstroke, I considered leaving. I could see no point in going on like this," she said after qualifying on Thursday for the semi-finals of the 200 metres backstroke.

Manaudou, who is the 200 and 400 freestyle world champion, said she had decided to stay in order to have "no regrets".

"At the French championships, I also started poorly and I recovered so why not here? I have the third time this season on the 200 metres backstroke and I can have ambitions," she said.

Manaudou was eighth in the 400 metres freestyle final and seventh in the 100 metres backstroke at Beijing and admitted the past year, when she changed coaches while her private life was splashed all over the French media, had affected her.

"The results speak for themselves," she said.

"I'm going to take a long break. One month or six or a year, to think back on what happened in 2007 and what happened here."