ATLANTA, Nov 17: Ten-time Olympic medalist Gary Hall Jr. has officially retired from swimming to turn his attention to a new challenge: helping those with diabetes lead long, productive lives.

Hall, who suffers from the disease, was expected to leave the sport after just missing out on making his fourth Olympic team. He made it official in conjunction with World Diabetes Day, which was recognized on Friday.

The 34-year-old Hall decided that his family — a wife and two small children — came before another attempt at the Olympics. “I’m just not ready to commit myself to another four years,” Hall said in an interview. “It was difficult to be away from my wife and kids this past year to commit myself to training. It’s different when you have kids. To be honest, I was getting more enjoyment out of my kids than I was out of swimming. When you know, you know.”

Like his father, Hall was a three-time Olympian who won two golds, two silver and one bronze in individual competition. He also captured three golds, one silver and one bronze as part of relay teams.

But Hall was nearly as well known for his outspokenness — doping was a favourite subject — and bringing a little flair to the usually staid sport of swimming. He would often wear a boxing robe and trunks to the deck for introductions before a race, throwing shadow punches as his name was announced.

At this year’s Olympic trials in Omaha, he went out for the final of his only event in a red, white and blue robe that had “The Godfather of Swimming” emblazoned across the back, a tribute to the late James Brown.

But Hall finished fourth in his last race. Only the top two made the Olympic team.

“I could probably drag some sponsors along by telling them I was going for another four years,” he said. “But look, it’s not getting any easier. This past round was tough. I took a beating.

“I’m really not disappointed at all with the result. I swam the second-fastest time of my career (21.91 seconds). I hadn’t swam that fast since 2000.—Agencies