OTTAWA — Two-time Olympian Karine Thomas has retired after a 10-year career with the Canadian synchronized swimming team.

Thomas and Jacqueline Simoneau won duet gold at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto. Thomas also won gold in the team event.

The 28-year-old was part of the team that narrowly missed the Olympic podium in 2012 in fourth place. She and Simoneau finished seventh at the Rio Games last summer.

"Bringing your 10-year career to the end is not something I would just do on a whim and I feel really good about this decision," Thomas said Friday in a statement released by Synchro Canada. "It's definitely the right step for me.

"It's such a privilege to represent one of the best countries in the world and to get to live the whole experience that the Olympics are."

Thomas said Simoneau, who is eight years younger, is "the little sister I've never had and I'm very, very thankful to have her in my life."

Thomas, from Gatineau, Que., is working towards a marketing degree at the University of Quebec.