MOSCOW, Feb 16: Russia's four-time Olympic swimming champion Alexander Popov officially confirmed Wednesday his decision to retire from sport, ITAR-TASS news agency reported.

"I finalised my decision to end my career last month. I think my time to retire has come," Popov said. The 33-year-old Popov, twice a double sprint freestyle swimming gold medallist in the Olympics, added that he would likely accept a proposal to take the post of Russian swimming federation deputy president.

The sprint great completed the 50m and 100m freestyle doubles at Barcelona in 1992 and Atlanta in 1996. But his eight-year sprint domination came to an end in Sydney four years later when he lost both his titles.

In all, he won four gold and five silver medals at four Olympics, six gold, four silver and one bronze at the world championships and 21 gold, three silver and two bronze medals at European championships.

The 100m freestyle world record of 48.21sec he achieved at Monaco in 1994 lasted six years until Pieter van den Hoogen band swam 47.84 at the Sydney Games. After becoming the first man since Johnny Weismuller in 1928 to successfully defend his 100m freestyle title at the 1996 Atlanta Games he was stabbed in the stomach in Moscow.

It was feared he would never win again but he fought back to reclaim his world title at the 1998 world championships in Perth, although the following year he lost his first major championship falling to van den Hoogen band at the Europeans.

Popov appeared to be back to his best when he won the 50m gold at the European championships in Madrid in May last year, a year after completing the 50m and 100m double at the world championships in Barcelona, but he failed to make the finals of either sprint events in Athens where van den Hoogen band successfully defended his 100m crown.

Popov had trained for ten years in Australia from 1992 but moved back to Europe after his coach Gennady Touretski ran into problems with sporting authorities there for possession of anabolic steroids. -AFP