Letitia Sim of Singapore has revealed her decision to retire from competitive swimming at the age of 23.
Singapore Aquatics took to social media to announce the news, commenting, “Today, we celebrate and honour Letitia Sim as she announces her retirement from competitive swimming.
“Her journey was never just about medals and records. It was about resilience and trusting the process.
“She has experienced the heartbreak of near misses at the Asian Games, to stepping onto the biggest sporting stage in the world at her Olympic debut in Paris.”
Sim provided the following insight:
“I am grateful for my time with Singapore Aquatics and for all of the opportunities and support they have provided me over the past few years. While I am proud of my accomplishments in the pool, I am even more thankful for the relationships, experiences, and memories created both in and out of the water that have shaped me into the person I am today. With that being said, I have decided to pursue a career outside of swimming. This was not an easy decision to make, but after much reflection, I know it is the right path for me moving forward. I will forever be thankful for this chapter of my life, but I am excited for the new opportunities and challenges that lie ahead.”
Sim qualified for the 2024 Olympic Games via her national record-setting performance of 1:06.36 in the women’s 100m breaststroke at the Japan Open. In Paris, Sim ultimately finished in 25th place in a time of 1:07.75 and finished 22nd in the 200m breast in 2:29.46.
She retires also owning the 50m breast (30.92), 200m breast (2:24.15) and 200m IM (2:13.42) individual national records in addition to contributing to the women’s 4x100m medley relay Singapore standard of 4:02.88.
Sim owns a remarkable 15 Southeast Asian Games medals, including 12 golds across the 2021, 2023 and 2025 editions of the bi-annual competition.
On the NCAA front, Sim competed for the University of Michigan Wolverines, where she became a five-time Big Ten champion (2025: 200y medley relay; 2026: 100y breaststroke, 200y breaststroke, 200y medley relay, 400y medley relay) and six-time CSCAA All-American. Sim also maintained a 4.00 GPA while majoring in applied exercise science.
Was she not competing at the pro swim series less than 24 hours ago??
She scratched all of her events.
Always enjoyed watching her swim. Best of luck for the future.
Very sad. Letitia has really brought huge generational changes in our womens breaststroke and 200 IM. And thank you for leading our first on-merit relay team to the Olympics. Thank you for your last hurrah at the 2025 SEA Games with that 5 of 5 golds.
the silver lining? Mikayla Tan almost immediately comes on to salvage our breaststroke
Hopefully it wasn’t something out of her control
sounds like she has an employment opportunity
Well done Letitia for all her achievements!
Tbh, I think she knows that Mikayla Tan is hot on her heels as well. Better to retire when at the top than struggle in the years to come against a younger competitor
This is so true. Sometimes we have to read between the lines.