Who Has Removed Themselves From Olympic Contention<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Retirements will lead to a different look at this summer's Olympic Games, as compared to what might have been in the Summer of 2020.\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/who-has-removed-themselves-from-olympic-contention\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Who Has Removed Themselves From Olympic Contention\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Retirements will lead to a different look at this summer's Olympic Games, as compared to what might have been in the Summer of 2020.\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:url\" 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{"id":467879,"date":"2021-04-06T08:01:00","date_gmt":"2021-04-06T15:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=467879"},"modified":"2021-04-06T08:01:00","modified_gmt":"2021-04-06T15:01:00","slug":"who-has-removed-themselves-from-olympic-contention","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/who-has-removed-themselves-from-olympic-contention\/","title":{"rendered":"Who Has Removed Themselves From Olympic Contention"},"content":{"rendered":"

Who Has Removed Themselves From Olympic Contention<\/strong><\/p>\n

The 2021 United States Olympic Trials and Tokyo Olympic Games<\/a> are going to look different this year. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, several former Olympic swimmers have announced their early retirement. This does not come as a surprise, as the commitment and training for an extra year can cause mental exhaustion, or not fit into life plans. As veteran swimmers move on, new ones will have a better chance to qualify for the 2021 Olympics.<\/p>\n

Former American record-holder Ian Finnerty<\/a><\/strong> surprised many with his retirement announcement. He posted on Instagram that his impressive career was over, in part due to the Alabama coaching change<\/a>, as he was training with Coley Stickels<\/strong>. Finnerty previously held the American record for the 100-yard breaststroke, and was a decorated NCAA winner as well. During his time swimming for his alma mater, Indiana University, he became the first man to break 50 seconds in the 100-yard breaststroke. Finnerty will be moving to Atlanta to begin his new career working for Red Bull.<\/p>\n

Another March retiree was freestyler Margo Geer<\/a>. She announced her sudden goodbye via social media in a similar fashion to Finnerty. Many people expected her to contend for the 2021 U.S. Olympic team. Her accomplishments include being a four-time Pan American Games gold medalist, and a World Championships medalist as well. Previously, she attended the University of Arizona and was named the Pac-12 Woman of the Year Award in 2015. Her retirement followed a long history of shoulder injuries and tough experiences at previous Olympic Trials meets. However, her announcement was a hopeful one, as she has been hired by the University of Alabama to be its next head coach. “To the sport I love…I can’t wait to see you in a different light,” she wrote.<\/p>\n

Outside of America, other Olympic swimmers have also said goodbye to the sport. Belgian swimmer Pieter Timmers<\/a> bid farewell last April, shortly after the Olympics were postponed. He had previously won a silver medal in the 100-meter freestyle at the 2016 Rio Games. This had been an incredible feat, as he entered the Games ranked 35th. His achievement was also a large win for Belgium, which had not seen a swimming medalist since the 1996 Games. Timmers claimed his retirement was due to personal plans for the 2020 year. He had also previously suffered a collapsed lung, hindering his training.<\/p>\n

With several names removed from Olympic contention, who will step forward and claim Olympic invitations. We will soon find out.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"