2012 and 2016 Olympic gold medalist Brittany Elmslie announced her retirement from swimming this week on Instagram. Elmslie was on Australia’s gold medal winning relays at the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games.
Elmslie wrote on Instagram:
“Thank you swimming! It was challenging to have to summarize my swimming journey. After 12 years of dedicating my mind, body and soul to the pursuit of excellence I can proudly announce that my competitive swimming journey has come to an end. I can’t put into words the amount of respect I hold for the sport and the incredible people who I have shared this chapter of my life with.
“2 Olympic Games, 2 World Championships, a Commonwealth Games, a Pan Pacs, a World Short Course, multiple World Cups, multiple junior AUS teams and countless domestic competitions are just the surface of the opportunities I have been fortunate enough to experience.
“I am incredibly proud of the medals I won throughout this journey yet the thing I am most grateful for are the unforgettable memories I made with so many amazing humans.
“The positive impact swimming has had on my life is overwhelming which is why I will still be passionately involved with giving back to the sport that gave me so much. Life is too short to waste any days not challenging yourself.
“Sometimes that means letting go of something that once was the spark of your purpose but as you grow as a person I have learnt that the spark shifts and you owe it to yourself to continue chasing what makes you feel most alive!”
Elmslie won five Olympic medals in relays in the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games. She swam on the winning 4×100 free relay in 2012 and 2016, and also swam on the silver medal winning 4×200 free relay team in 2012.
Elmslie also swam in the prelims of the 4×100 medley relay in 2012 and 2016 that allowed her to win silver medals in each event.
Elmslie is tenth all-time in Australia in the 50 free (24.78) with her time from a pre-Olympic meet in 2016. She is also eighth all-time in the 100 free (53.54) with her swim at the 2016 Olympic Trials and is seventh all-time in the 200 free (1:56.79) in Australia. Elmslie also ranks sixth all-time in Australia in the 50 fly (25.91) from the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
Elmslie last competed at the 2019 Australian Swimming Championships this month where she was eighth in the 100 free (55.72) and tenth in the 50 free (25.75). She was also fifth in the prelims of the 50 fly (27.58) but did not swim in the final.
Elmslie was the World Short Course Champion in 2016 in the 100 free.
