Australian swimmer Chelsea Hodges, Olympic champion, forced to retire at 22

Australian Olympic gold medallist swimmer Chelsea Hodges announced her retirement from the sport at the age of 22 on Friday.

Chelsea had been battling hip injuries for a while and was forced to retire from the sport to prioritise her health and wellbeing. Her decision came just weeks before the Australian Olympic swimming trials, set to be held in Brisbane between June 10 and 15.

“It’s with a very heavy heart I announce my retirement from competitive swimming,” the 22-year-old Chelsea said in an Instagram post. “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.

“I had to make the decision to retire or ruin my chance to be as fit and as healthy as I would like to be in my future. Ultimately I have to do what’s best for my future and listen to what my body has been desperately trying to tell me,” she added.

Chelsea was a part of the Australian swimming team which won the gold medal in the women’s 4x100m medley relay event at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. The team also included Emma McKeon, Kaylee McKeown and Cate Campbell.

She also won the bronze medal in women's 50m and 100m breaststroke events at the Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham.

Chelsea is also the national record holder in the non-Olympic women’s 50m breaststroke event and achieved the distinction at the Australian selection trials for the Birmingham Commonwealth Games.

Chelsea has suffered from multiple hip injuries throughout her career and had her first hip operation at the age of 15. She had to undergo another operation last year and deemed it risky to try and push her body for another shot at glory at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

“I wanted one last chance at the Games but after six cortisone injections, I had to make a decision on my future,” said Chelsea.