Romero out of London 2012

Olympic champion Rebecca Romero has announced she will not compete at the London 2012 Games next summer.

Setbacks halt Olympic title defence

Olympic champion Rebecca Romero has announced she will not compete at the London 2012 Games next summer. British Cycling confirmed the 31-year-old, who claimed individual pursuit gold in Beijing, has left the Olympic Programme. Double world champion Romero said: "Having suffered several setbacks at crucial points, I believe I'm no longer on a pathway which will see me fulfil my Olympic ambition to win a second Olympic gold medal" "I'm proud to have contributed to the cycling team's great Olympic triumph in Beijing and I thank all the amazing people within British Cycling who were central to my success. I wish my current team-mates every success in London next year." The former rower is the only British woman to win Olympic medals in two different sports following her silver medal at the 2004 Games in Athens in the quadruple sculls. She was awarded an MBE in 2009 for her achievements. British Cycling performance manager Shane Sutton added: "Rebecca's decision to leave is a great loss to the team and it's a shame to lose an Olympic champion going into the Olympic year. "Looking ahead, we have some great young talent in addition to experienced riders in the team pursuit squad and I'm confident we can remain on track to hit our performance targets in the lead up to and during the London Olympic Games."