Irish swimmer Jordan Sloan has announced his retirement from competitive swimming at the age of 29.
Having revealed his decision this week, Sloan stated, “I have been very lucky for the opportunities that swimming has given me and to be able to travel the world through my sport.
“My highlight is still that of breaking my first Irish record, and then to go on and swim against many great swimmers on the world stage. I want to give a special thanks to my family, Bangor Swimming Club , Swim Ireland, Swim Ulster, Sport Ireland and Sport Northern Ireland for the years of support and encouragement that they have given me.
“I am still actively involved with Bangor Swimming Club and have aspirations in coaching. I very much hope to be on poolside at major Irish meets in the near future.”
A freestyle specialist, Sloan represented his nation of Ireland on the European Championships, Commonwealth Games and World Championships levels. He retires as an owner of 8 current Irish national records across both long course and short course, all as a member of men’s and mixed relays.
Speaking about Sloan, Ireland’s National Performance Director Jon Rudd stated, “Jordan has been such a stalwart of Irish swimming for so long that it will be a very different place without him when we next set foot on Irish senior teams.
“His contribution to National Team swimming in recent years is hard to quantify, particularly as he always provided such a strong backbone to so many Irish relays as part of this journey. We will miss him but are also delighted that his love for the sport will see him undertake coaching roles within Ulster.”
Sloan recently completed his Level 2 Coaching Certificate with aspirations to begin coaching within his native Ireland. He will work as an assistant coach and athlete mentor within the National Centre (Ulster) and with Bangor Swimming Club while also making himself available to Irish swimming clubs across the island who may wish to engage with him for swimming clinics and/or athlete talks and education sessions.
Well done on a very successful career.
You raised the bar a bit higher for those younger ones coming through.