Rio de Janeiro, Dec 13 (IANS): Open water swimmer Thomas Lurz is hoping Rio de Janeiro will provide the stage for the one accolade to elude him in his decorated 13-year career.

The 12-time world champion will bow out of competitive swimming after the open water race at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, reports Xinhua.

Here for Sunday's King and Queen of the Sea Challenge in Copacabana, Lurz did not hide his desire to end his career on a high.

"An Olympic gold medal is the only thing missing from my career and it's my final objective as a professional," the German said.

"I will be retiring after the Rio 2016 Games and bidding farewell with a gold medal in this wonderful setting that is Copacabana beach would be the perfect end to my marathon swimming career."

Lurz, competed in the 1500m at the Athens Games, but failed to make the final. Four years later, he took part in Olympic debut in marathon swimming at Beijing, winning the bronze medal.

At the London 2012 Games, he went one better, finishing only three-and-a-half seconds behind the winner Oussama Mellouli of Tunisia.

In his first visit here, the 35-year-old said his short-term focus was to secure an Olympic berth at next year's world championships.

"In 2015 I'm going to opt out of the World Cup and concentrate on the world championships," he said.

"At my age, I think that it's best to conserve my energies for my top priority, securing a place at Rio 2016."

The King and Queen of the Sea Challenge is an international mixed doubles competition comprising swimmers from six countries: Brazil, Germany, Argentina, Spain, United States and Italy.