Paris: A French swimmer has lost her first race in four years and pulled out of her strongest Olympic event following pressure linked to the release of photographs of her naked on the internet.
Laure Manaudou, 21, known as the "French mermaid'', said that she would not compete in the 200 metres freestyle in Beijing, after breaking down in tears following defeat at the French championships.
She achieved fame in Athens in 2004 by becoming the first Frenchwoman to win an Olympic gold swimming medal, claiming the 400 metres freestyle.
She left Philippe Lucas, her long-time trainer, to move to Italy with a boyfriend, also a swimmer, but was later sacked by her Italian club. She returned to France last May. In December, France leaped to her defence after Italian rivals were blamed for posting sexually explicit photographs of her on the internet.
