{"id":491903,"date":"2021-11-25T10:32:06","date_gmt":"2021-11-25T17:32:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=491903"},"modified":"2021-11-25T10:32:06","modified_gmt":"2021-11-25T17:32:06","slug":"commonwealth-400im-champion-three-time-olympian-aimee-willmott-confirms-her-retirement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/commonwealth-400im-champion-three-time-olympian-aimee-willmott-confirms-her-retirement\/","title":{"rendered":"Commonwealth 400IM Champion & Three-Time Olympian Aimee Willmott Confirms Her Retirement"},"content":{"rendered":"

Commonwealth 400IM champion Aimee Willmott<\/strong> has confirmed her retirement after an 11-year senior international career that featured two Olympic finals.<\/p>\n

The Briton last competed at Tokyo 2020 in which she finished seventh in the 400IM, matching her result from Rio 2016.<\/p>\n

That followed her silver in the long medley at the European Championships in Budapest in May, her third medal over five editions.<\/p>\n

The 28-year-old had spoken before Tokyo about her intention to retire and on Thursday she confirmed that her own competitive days were over.<\/p>\n

It was a fine career that started at the 2010 European Championships in Budapest before she competed at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi, India, later that year where she finished fifth and sixth in the 400IM and 200IM respectively as well as eighth in the 800 free.<\/p>\n

Willmott went on to compete in the first of her three Olympics at London 2012, finishing 11th in the 400IM at her home Games, 28 years after her father Stuart raced the same event at Los Angeles 1984.<\/p>\n

There were also three World Championships with seventh in Kazan, Russia, 2015 her best result and a trio of Commonwealth experiences for Team England.<\/p>\n

There was a memorable battle with Hannah Miley<\/strong> at Glasgow 2014 in which the Scot prevailed with Willmott winning silver, an outcome she matched in the 200 fly before she claimed gold on Gold Coast.<\/p>\n

Away from the pool, Aimee’s positive influence was felt as a senior leader in the swimming team and as an athlete representative with both British Swimming and on the Commonwealth Games England board.<\/u><\/u><\/p>\n

She trained under Steven Tigg<\/strong> in Stirling since 2017, after a move from London, where she was mentored by Lisa Bates<\/strong> \u2013 the coach who oversaw her initial transition to the senior ranks at Middlesbrough Amateur Swimming Club. Both coaches have played crucial roles in her career.<\/p>\n

Willmott said:<\/p>\n

\u201cI am so thankful to my teammates from over the years \u2013 they have made my journey and medal success so special.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot many people have a parent that went to an Olympic Games, let alone in the same sport and the same event, so I\u2019m one of the lucky ones. My dad was with me during my very first length of the pool and has been with me every length since. He has of course had some pretty loud company in the stands, with incredible support from my mum and sister too!<\/p>\n
\u201cIn 2017, I moved to Stirling, thinking my swimmer career would soon end \u2013 but here I am, hanging up my goggles more than four years later. Being around such an inspirational group of swimmers gave me the drive to keep going and better myself. I can\u2019t thank my teammates enough for reminding me why I started swimming in the first place!\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
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Thank you Mum, Dad and Sis, @britishswimming<\/a>, @TeamEngland<\/a>, @TeamGB<\/a>, @Lisa__Bates<\/a>, @SteveTigg, @bradleyhay82<\/a>, @UofSSwim<\/a>, & @funkitaswimwear<\/a> for making my swimming journey the best \u2764\ufe0f<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s to being a swammer and the next exiting chapter of my life \ud83c\udfca\ud83c\udffb\u200d\u2640\ufe0f pic.twitter.com\/VaQ30T57Kt<\/a><\/p>\n
— Aimee (Willmott) Booker (@aimee_willmott) November 25, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n