Ukrainian four-times Olympic gold medallist swimmer Yana Klochkova said that she would enter only relay races at the Beijing Games.

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Klochkova, who turns 26 when the Games get under way in August, told the Megasport channel that her age had been the primary factor behind sub-par performances in recent events.

"The Olympic Games are a very tough competition demanding very high standards. I have therefore decided to take part only in the relay events. I will not be in any individual events," Klochkova told Megasport.

"I can no longer train the way I did when I was 17 or 18 and I cannot keep up the same pace. And I cannot come out a loser in a competition where I was once the winner."

Klochkova won gold in the individual medley 200 metres and 400 metres in Sydney and repeated the feat four years later at the Athens Games.

At the European championships in Eindhoven in March when she returned to competition after missing the 2007 world championships, she failed to make the final of the 400 metres.

Klochkova trailed home fourth in her heat, more than seven seconds behind Hungary's Katinka Hosszu, and 12th overall, nearly 10 seconds adrift of the fastest final qualifier.