World-record holder Laure Manaudou won't compete in the 200-meter freestyle at the Beijing Olympics after pulling out of the event at the French national trials Tuesday.
Manaudou came fourth in the heats to qualify for the semifinals but decided not to swim, forfeiting a chance to compete in the race at the Aug. 8-24 games.
She swam 1 minute, 55.52 seconds to set the world mark in the 200 at the 2007 world championships in Melbourne, Australia. Manaudou was way below her best in Tuesday's heats, finishing in 2:00.08.
"We decided on this, the program was not good for me," Manaudou said.
She comfortably won the 100 backstroke later Tuesday, earning her Olympic spot in that event.
On Monday, Manaudou broke down in tears after losing in the 400 for the first time since June 2004. She was beaten by Camelia Potec _ coached by Manaudou's former mentor, Philippe Lucas _ and Coralie Balmy.
The top two French swimmers _ Balmy and Manaudou _ qualified for the games in the 400. Potec is Romanian.
"It was very hard yesterday (Monday) and this morning," Manaudou said. "There was just the backstroke left, the important thing was to win and to qualify for the games."
The 21-year-old Manaudou won gold in the 400, silver in the 800 and bronze in the 100 backstroke at the 2004 Athens Olympics, becoming only the second Frenchwoman to win three medals in a single summer or winter games.
