Sharon van Rouwendaal, the only person to win two Olympic open-water swimming gold medals, announced her retirement in a 16-page, three-language social media post.
“The truth is: elite sport requires sacrifice,” the post stated. “I missed birthdays, family gatherings, even my grandmother’s funeral. For eighteen years, I lived in a tunnel. My mother once said: ‘I don’t know if it was all worth it.’ That question has stayed with me ever since.”
Rouwendaal, from the Netherlands, said she chose to retire at age 31 to be with her family every day.
“It’s time to step out of the tunnel,” the post stated, “and start living.”
Van Rouwendaal won Olympic gold in the open-water 10km race in 2016 and again in 2024, becoming the first double gold medalist in an event that made its Olympic debut in 2008.
She also competed in the pool -- where she made her Olympic debut in 2012 at age 18.
She was a World Championships medalist in the 100m backstroke in 2011 (bronze, behind gold medalist Missy Franklin) and in the 400m freestyle in 2015 (silver behind Katie Ledecky), in addition to seven individual open-water medals from 5km (the shortest race) to 25km (the longest race).
“On the morning of the Olympic race in Paris, I was sick,” her retirement post stated. “I vomited twice. The pressure was enormous, it felt like pressure for two. But I still started. And once I was in the water, there was only one thought: I will, and I must, win. There was no other option. And I did. The most beautiful tribute I could give and the perfect end to my career.”
