BUDAPEST () -- Hungary's five-times Olympic gold medalist swimmer Krisztina Egerszegi announced her retirement from top flight competition Friday, her 22nd birthday.


"Swimming is a hard job, but I have five gold medals to show for it," Egerszegi, the first swimmer to win five individual event golds, told 2,000 people who braved rainshowers to cheer her outside the Hungarian parliament. Egerszegi said she would continue swimming for another year to allow her body to taper down but would not compete in major events.


"I am not going to swim in any big competitions," she said.