Patten's retirement

The 24-year-old made the decision to hang up her hat and goggles with a heavy heart after revealing she had been battling a shoulder injury for as long as nine months.

Patten was pushed towards the decision after finishing 21st in the 10km open water event at the World Championships in Shanghai in July, missing out on Olympic qualification by 11 places.

However she ignored the calls, determined to continue with the sport she loves, but her shoulder injury soon became too much to deal with prompting her to call it quits.

Patten boasts Olympic 10km open water bronze from Beijing 2008 as well as world silver from earlier that year and in 2007, and is readying herself for some tough times post-swimming.

"At the moment it feels like I am just on holiday, probably in a month or two it will really hit me and I will struggle but I will stay positive," said Patten, who also reached the final of the 800m freestyle in the pool at the Beijing Games.

"There will be some days when I wake up and think 'why am I not swimming?' but I will keep telling myself there is nothing more that I could have done.

"The shoulder hasn't got any better, it isn't a new thing that has just sprung up, it has been coming for nine months and I have to be strict on myself and not get down.

"It has been the toughest decision of my life so far and I am proud of myself for being mentally tough and pushing through over those nine months when others would have quit.

"Being a competitive athlete requires you to be very dedicated, some athletes, and I'm not going to name names, do go out over the weekends but I never did that.

"I was a full-time competitive athlete and I still haven't gone out yet – maybe in a couple more months I will be OK to go out."

Patten admits she has given a little thought as to a career after swimming, seeking advice from her former school, Plymouth College, to help point her in the right direction.

She has also returned home to Cornwall and admits, at present, she leaves the sport still wanting more, she said: "At the beginning of this year I was swimming personal bests and really excited.

"But then I got the injury and pretty much from the beginning of April it was really tough. Probably in a year's time I will look back at my two world silver medals and Olympic bronze and be pleased.

"But you want more and you want to do more. I haven't thought about what I am going to do now, a lot of things have changed and when they talk about mature students at university it makes me feel old."