By Hideki Mochizuki, Swimming World Japanese Correspondent
TOKYO, Japan, December 11. JAPAN's first female Olympic gold medalist in a freestyle event, Ai Shibata, announced her retirement from swimming yesterday at a press conference in Tokyo, Japan.
Shibata won the gold medal in the 800 freestyle at the Athens Olympic Games with a time of 8:24.54.
Shibata, 26, said that she has had sharp pain in her lower back since March 2006. Since then, she has been repeatedly bothered by similar pain, which became unbearable.
"I thought that I was not able to even participate in Athens," Shibata said when reflecting on her gold medal. "So, the whole experience has been astonishing."
Shibata plans to work for Descente, which distributes the Arena brand of swimsuits in the Japanese market.