Paralympic gold medallist Liz Johnson has announced her retirement from competitive swimming after an career in the pool spanning two decades.
The Paralympian has won a medal at three consecutive Paralympic Games, having made her debut in Athens in 2004.
Johnson won Gold in the 100m Breaststroke in the Beijing Paralympic Games in 2008. Liz was also the first female in the SB6 category to break the 100 seconds barrier for the 100m Breaststroke.
At London 2012, Johnson recorded a season's best time of 1:40.90 to take the bronze medal in the 100m Backstroke (SB6).
Johnson said: “Sport has taught me many life lessons and transferable skills, two of the most important being that ‘timing is everything’ and ‘everything happens for a reason.’ It is with these at the forefront of my mind that I make this announcement today.
“In December, I underwent surgery for a hernia repair and unfortunately I ended up being out of training for longer than I had envisaged which resulted in me missing a large portion of the crucial winter workload.
“Since recovering, my team and I have been trying to play catch up but we know my body and we know where I need to be and unfortunately the trials have simply come too soon.
“Whilst this presents a big change in my life and the direction that this year will take for me, I can’t be sad. I’ve been extremely privileged to be able to do something that I love and compete at the highest level for almost 20 years.”
British Para-Swimming National Performance Director Chris Furber said: “On behalf of everyone at British Swimming we wish Liz luck in her future plans.
“She has had a great career that has seen her stand at the very top of our sport and I know she will continue to be an ambassador for Para-Swimming.”