VIENNA, July 20: Austria’s Olympic swimming hope Markus Rogan will retire after next year’s world championships in Italy, he told national radio Oe3 on Sunday.

Rogan, who won gold and broke the 200m backstroke world record at the World Short-Course Swimming Championships in Manchester in April, is gearing up for this summer’s Olympic Games in Beijing.

“I know I’m not a front-runner but I have a chance to win gold. If I do everything 100 percent, if I’m lucky and the others aren’t, I could win a gold medal,” said the 26-year-old.—AFP