Trickett's retirement had been signalled after she took a break from training following this year's world championships in Rome, where she failed to win a gold medal.
"I sincerely believe I left at a great point for me," Trickett told reporters in Sydney.
"I don't feel like I was getting slower and don't feel like I was getting any less competitive at all.”
(Published 14 December 2009, 16:37 IST)