British sailor Joe Glanfield has announced his retirement from the sport.

The 34-year-old won the silver medal at the 2004 Olympics in Athens and then again at the Beijing Games four years later.

Glanfield, who returned to sailing in 2013 after a four-year break, was expected to participate in the 2016 Rio Olympics with his sailing partner Luke Patience, but he has decided to quit.

"What I'd need to be prepared to sacrifice and compromise is a bit higher than I am prepared to," BBC Sport quotes the father of five as saying.

"Once I saw a conflict between doing a gold medal-winning campaign and living the life I want to live with my family then it became clear to me that the answer was to stop now and allow Luke to get on with someone else.

"As Luke and I sailed, it became quite clear what we felt was required to win a gold in Rio, and I increasingly felt as though it was going to be difficult for me to do exactly what was required."

Glanfield also backed Patience to succeed in Brazil in 2016.

"He's a great guy and I've got a huge amount of respect for him," he said.

"He's in the perfect place to do a committed campaign for Rio and I wish him all the best for that."

Glanfield finished fourth in the 2000 Olympics.