KEY POINTS:
Olympic champion rowers Caroline and Georgina Evers-Swindell are in no hurry to make any further plans after yesterday announcing their retirements.
The Hawkes Bay twins, who celebrate their 30th birthdays today, signed off from the sport that has taken them to double Olympic gold and three world titles.
The announcement comes two months after they successfully defended their double-sculls title in Beijing.
Georgina said she and her sister will be kept busy with commitments to their sponsors over the next few months so they're not looking too far ahead.
"We're busy at the moment doing things for our sponsors, which is cool because they have played a huge part in our success," she said.
"But when that dies down probably more so in the New Year we'll have to think about what we want to do and where we go from here. At the moment it's still really about enjoying what happened in Beijing and making the most of the time now to enjoy it."
She said she still would like to be involved in rowing in some capacity, however no thought has been given to a possible single sculls career.
"No, not at this stage. We've trained singles throughout our career but I don't think either of us have thought about taking it up in the future. We have no idea what will happen in the future. We've never really had a big break to know how much we would miss rowing. Who knows how we will feel a year or two down the track?"
However, Georgina said if they never get in to a boat again, they can be happy knowing they produced the race of their lives in their last outing.
Their dramatic photo-finish triumph in Beijing would probably rate as their most remarkable victory, given they were regarded as outsiders to finish on top of the podium.
After claiming three straight world titles from 2003-05, the twins' dominance had been challenged in more recent years with below-par seasons in 2006 and 2007.
But when they failed to reach the A final of a World Cup regatta at Poznan, Poland, coming last in both their heat and their repechage less than seven weeks out from the Olympics, it looked as if their golden reign was over.
Georgina said after 18 months of injury and hashed results, they went to Beijing simply seeking respectability.
"After Poland we went to Beijing just wanting to row as well as we possibly could."
One person who never doubted the Evers-Swindells' competitive credibility was their coach, Dick Tonks, who said after their win in Beijing they still had another two Olympics left in them.
Georgina said they told their coach, who she describes as a key factor in their success, of their decision on Wednesday.
"He tried to make us change our minds but he understands and he's happy for us and I think he's happy we're retiring this way as Olympic champions and there's plenty of other rowers he can now go on and coach," said Georgina.
"No words can describe the part he's played in our performances over the last eight years and we've been really fortunate to have him as a coach."
And Tonks is happy to reciprocate the praise.
"The twins are an example of guts and determination that every young athlete can look up to," he said. "They have delivered when it has mattered most and no coach could ever ask for more."
