Cape Town - South African Olympic swimmer Karin Prinsloo announced her retirement from competitive swimming on her Instagram account on Monday.
The athlete took to social media saying: “For 21 years swimming was part of my life but last night I completed the circle by ending it off with the event I qualified in for the 2012 Olympics.
“I never thought the sport I loved so dearly would also be the very thing that brought me so much tears. But today I walk away with a grateful heart.”
Prinsloo represented South Africa at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, advancing through to the semi-finals of the 200m backstroke and participating in the heats of the 200m freestyle.
Her last competitive swim was in the final leg of the Mare Nostrum series, which saw some of her fellow countrymen received medals, but became a fruitless tournament for the 26-year-old.
In 2011, at the All Africa Games in Maputo, the swimmer took home eight gold medals and six gold medals at the 2015 All Africa Games in Brazzaville.
According to the Citizen, Prinsloo retired with four SA individual records: the 100m (54.48), 200m (1:57.17) and 400m (4:07.92) freestyle, and the 100m backstroke (1:00.78).