Isaac Cooper Says He’s “On Break” and Will “Hit a Massive Reset Button” on Swimming Career

Australian Olympian Isaac Cooper posted on his Instagram that he’s taking a break from competitive swimming.

In a bit of an enigmatic post, Cooper said that “now that I’m on break I’m going to try to hit a massive reset button. I’m going to try to take a step back to reflect, try to rekindle some old relationships, spend more time with my family and see what life is really about.”

He emphasized that his plan was to return to swimming if “distance makes the heart grow fonder,” and indicating that he planned to spend some time bulking up in the meantime.

“I’ll be back don’t you worry. My plan is to see if the saying “distance makes the heart grow fonder” is true. I probably won’t be able to stay away for long but it’ll be at least until I bulk to 90kg 🤣”

He accompanied the post with a story showing his current weight at 79.5kg (175 pounds), meaning he intends to put on about 10.5kg (23 pounds) in the weight room.

The post indicated that he was going to use the break to reconnect with friends and family and experience life outside of the pool.

Cooper’s Full Post:

Cooper didn’t win any Olympic medals in Paris, but does have a bronze from the 2020 Games in Tokyo where he swam a prelims leg of the mixed 400 medley relay as a teenager. He struggled at the Paris Olympic Games, finishing 21st in the 100 back in 54.21, well short of his best, and swam the backstroke leg of Australia’s 6th-place men’s 400 medley relay.

Still only 20 years old, he was the World Champion at the lightly-attended 2024 World Aquatics Championships in the 50 back and has six medals at the Short Course World Championships. He shifted his focus to 50 meter races for those World Championships before trying to pivot back to the 100 back at the Olympic Games; and then after the Olympics again shifted back to the 50s.

At the World Cup, he swam the 50 free, 50 back, and 50 fly at all three stops, and only prelims of the 100 back at the opening event in Shanghai, missing the final.

In total, the $68,400 he earned at the 2024 Swimming World Cup and Short Course World Championships was more than any other Australian and included a pair of World Cup event victories in the 50 back.

He also won a silver medal at the World Short Course Championships in the 50 back, which went with a 7th-place finish in the 100 back, 12th-place finish in the 50 free, and 21st place finish in the 50 fly.