Swimming star Popov calls it a day

Legendary Russian swimmer Alexander Popov has announced he is calling time on his illustrious career at the age of 33.

The “Tsar”, who dominated the sport throughout the 1990s, confirmed to French sports newspaper L’Equipe on Thursday that he is retiring after 13 years at the top.

Popov, a specialist over short distances, won four Olympic gold medals and six World Championship golds during his time in the pool.

He successfully defended his 50m and 100m freestyle gold medals from the 1992 Barcelona Olympics in Atlanta in 1996, and claimed a silver in Sydney in 2000, before picking up three more golds at the 2003 World Championships.

However his impressive haul dried up in 2004, and he was eliminated at the semi-final stage of the 100m freestyle competition in Athens last summer.