Year off gives Jones motivation for fourth Olympics

Leisel Jones of Australia swims in the women's 200m breaststroke heats at the swimming World Cup in Berlin November 15, 2009.

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia's Leisel Jones believes the year she took away from serious competition has given the multi-medal winner added motivation to compete at the 2012 Olympics.

Three-time Olympian Jones had considered retiring after the 2008 Beijing Games but her decision to take a sabbatical has only rekindled her interest in going to London.

"No one (swimmer) on the Australian team has ever done four Olympics," she told Australian Associated Press.

"It would be a pretty big thing if I chose to continue and physically there is no reason why I can't go on.

"Physically, I am in very good shape and I am actually enjoying the training, I like that side of things."

Jones burst on to the world stage as a 15-year-old at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, winning silver medals in the 100 meters breaststroke and medley relay, and has since established herself as one of the greatest female breaststrokers of all time.

In her three Olympic appearances, she has collected eight medals, including three gold, as well as winning seven world championship golds and setting a stack of world records.

She missed this year's world championships in Rome but continued training and showed she had lost none of her speed or competitive instincts by breaking the short-course world records in both the 100 and 200 in Berlin.

"I am one of those rare athletes that enjoys training," she said, before adding why she felt competing at the next Olympics was a realistic goal.

"There is no reason why I couldn't as I will only be 27 (in 2012) in London and that isn't very old."

(Reporting by Julian Linden; Editing by John O'Brien)