Australia Olympic gold medalist Chelsea Hodges has announced retirement from swimming at the age of just 22.
According to Fox Sports, Hodges was an important part of Australia’s 4x100m women’s medley relay team.
Hodges, alongside Kaylee McKeown, Emma McKeon and Cate Campbell, won a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics in medley relay.
Hodges announced her retirement in an Instagram post that read, “Thank you Swimming. It’s with a very heavy heart that I announce my retirement from competitive swimming.”
She wrote, “It’s been a challenging 18 months and retiring now is not how I hoped this chapter of my life would end; however, I believe I’ve made the right decision.”
Hodges expressed, “Swimming has given me so much in life, and I could not be more grateful for the people, experiences and lifelong memories I have through this sport. I had to make the decision to retire or ruin my chance to be as fit and as healthy as I would like in my future.”
Hodges concluded, “Ultimately, I have to do what’s best for my future and listen to what my body has been desperately trying to tell me. I am lucky to have the absolute best support team who helped me make this decision, as well as the best support network in my family and friends.”
She told SMH when she withdrew from the national championship last month, “I went home and cried for many hours. I think I knew my swimming was done.”
Hodges added, “Being in pain all the time is very tiring. You are mentally and physically drained. I just wanted the pain to end. It feels like someone is grinding your bones any time you move and drilling a hole into your leg.
She was also part of Australia’s team that broke the world record in the women’s 4x50m medley relay at the 2022 World Short Course Championships in Melbourne.
Hodges made an unbreakable Australian 50m backstroke record (30.05sec) in Birmingham.
