Van den Hoogenband hangs up his goggles

BEIJING (Reuters) - Pieter van den Hoogenband of the Netherlands announced his retirement from international swimming on Thursday after failing to win a medal in the final of the men's 100 meters freestyle at the Beijing Olympics.

Van den Hoogenband, 30, won the men's blue-riband event at the 2000 Sydney and 2004 Athens Olympics and also made the final in Atlanta in 1996 but said it was time to call it a day after finishing fifth in the final behind France's Alain Bernard.

(Reporting by Julian Linden; Editing by Greg Stutchbury)