OXFORD Olympian Stewart Innes has retired from international rowing following the postponement of the Olympic Games in Tokyo.

The former St Edward's School pupil finished fourth in the pairs with Alan Sinclair at the Rio Olympics in 2016.

Injuries have since limited his chances of competing at a high level, but along with Sinclair they had been targeting a return to the Olympics this year.

However, with coronavirus delaying the Games, it was unrealistic to keep pushing through the pain for another 12 months.

Innes, 29, said: "I have pushed my body to its absolute limit. With the Olympics pushed back another year, rowing through the injury simply ceases to be possible."

 He added: "The Olympics was an emotional rollercoaster.

“Coming fourth after having come so far was tough, but our strategy was to go for gold and we gave it our absolute best.

"It was a huge privilege to even be there and everything else was a bonus, really.”

Olympic men’s coach Steve Trapmore said: “Narrowly missing a podium spot at the 2016 Rio Olympics provided extra incentive for the Tokyo campaign but progress was halted through injury.

"It is testament to his strength of character that he was able to come back stronger than ever and it is unfortunate that postponement of the Games has resulted in his retirement."

Innes now plans to move into management consulting.