Off track ..... Manaudou considered leaving

France's Laure Manaudou, who lost her Olympic 400m freestyle title in Beijing, said she had considered leaving early after two disastrous finals and would take "a long break" after the Olympics.

"After the 100m backstroke, I considered leaving. I could see no point in going on like this," she said after qualifying on Thursday for the semifinals of the 200m backstroke.

Manaudou, who is the 200 and 400 freestyle world champion, said she had decided to stay in order to have "no regrets".