Two-time Olympic champion Hunter Armstrong has shared a personal update, shedding light on financial hardship that forced him to step away from competitive swimming late last year.
On Instagram, the 24-year-old opened up about how his main financial backing suddenly fell through, throwing his life and swimming career into question. Even though it was a tough and uncertain time, he’s now grateful for the support he got and hints that a new partnership is on the horizon.
He wrote, “At the end of last year, financing fell through in my primary contract, and I suddenly found myself in a position I never expected to be in. I had to step away from training and competition — not because I wanted to, but because I needed to focus on staying afloat and holding onto the life I’d worked so hard to build.
“One of the hardest parts was having to pull out of competitions I was looking forward to — including Short Course Worlds. That decision wasn’t easy, but it was necessary.
“The mental toll during that time was real. Quiet. Heavy. Some days, survival felt like the only win I could reach.
“I stood with tears in my eyes behind the blocks in Fort Lauderdale, believing that was my last meet. I carried the weight of everything — the loss, the fear, the unknown — into what I thought would be the final race of my career.
“But I’m still here.
“And I’m incredibly grateful to now be working with a new partner who believes in me and makes it possible for me to continue doing what I love. Big news coming soon.
“To those who reached out, who stayed close, who quietly supported me through the silence — thank you. You helped keep the light on when I couldn’t see the way forward.
“And a special thank-you to NYAC and USA Swimming for standing by my side during such a challenging time. Your support meant everything.”
He did not specify which contract fell through, but his most well-known sponsor is TYR, with whom he signed a suit deal back in June of 2022.
Armstrong first made his presence known in 2021 by finishing 2nd in the 100 backstroke at the U.S. Olympic Trials, earning a spot on the Olympic team. At the Tokyo Olympics, he placed 9th in the event, narrowly missing out on a spot in the final. However, he contributed to the U.S. team’s success by swimming the prelim leg of the 4×100 medley relay, which went on to win gold and set a world record in the final.
His individual international breakthrough came in 2022, when he captured silver in the 100 back at the World Championships in Budapest with a personal best time of 51.98. This performance ranks him as the third-fastest American in the event, behind Ryan Murphy and Aaron Peirsol. Armstrong set a new world record in the 50 back (23.71) at the U.S. World Trials, before going on to win silver in the event at Worlds in 24.14. He also contributed to gold medals in the 4×100 freestyle relay (prelims leg), 4×100 mixed medley relay (finals back leg), and 4×100 medley relay (prelims back leg).
After the 2022 World Championships, Armstrong followed his primary coach, Matt Bowe, to Cal, where Bowe had recently been hired as an associate head coach. When Bowe took the Michigan head coaching position in 2023, Armstrong opted to stay at Cal and continue training under head coach Dave Durden.
Armstrong went on to win the 50 back (24.05) world title in 2023, while also claiming bronze in the 100 back (52.58). At the 2024 Worlds, he triumphed in the 100 back (52.68) and secured silver in the 50 back (24.33). He collected medley relay medals at both competitions, swimming the backstroke leg in the prelims in 2023 and in the finals in 2024.
Armstrong’s medal haul at the 2024 World Championships in Doha was particularly impressive, as he totaled seven medals. There, he helped the U.S. team win the mixed 4×100 medley relay gold medal and earned bronzes in the 4×100 and 4×200 free relays, as well as in the mixed 4×100 free relay—all of which he swam in the finals.
At the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials, Armstrong again touched 2nd in the 100 back (52.72) behind Murphy to secure his place on the U.S. Olympic team for Paris. He also hit the wall 4th in the 100 free. In Paris, he had a challenging individual performance in the 100 back, finishing 11th in a time of 53.11 and missing out on a spot in the final. However, he helped the U.S. win gold in the 4×100 free relay, swimming a key 46.75 split on the third leg. He also nabbed silver in the 4×100 medley relay, swimming the free leg in the final.
Following the Paris Olympics, Armstrong took a break from competition and returned to Ohio State to continue his training. In October 2024, he confirmed plans to finish his swimming career with the program.
Since the Games, Armstrong has raced at three meets: he logged a time of 43.82 to win the 100-yard free at the Schroeder A+ Meet in early February, clocked 22.45/50.64 in the 50/100 free at the Westmont Pro Series in March (placing 9th and 13th, respectively), and most recently posted a 22.57 in the 50 free (18th) and 24.20 in the 50 butterfly (15th) at the previously mentioned Fort Lauderdale Pro Series stop.
On one hand, it’s nice when athletes are “open” about things.
On the other hand, Armstrong always sounds so histrionic.
Having a job and training is no different than balancing school and training. The job hours might be more but if you factor in the time spent studying, it might be less overall hours. I completely understand training for the Olympics or World Championships takes much more than training for a high school or college but athletes should at least be able to work a job and also train.
The reality is that being a full-time professional swimmer is just not that viable of a career option for guys like Armstrong (the guys who are national team fixtures, but still nowhere near the Ledecky/Dressel level of fame). It’s not that much money to begin with, and you can’t do it long-term. You at least need to supplement it with a part-time coaching gig or something, which would also benefit your post-swimming career prospects.
Swimming as your sole source of income only makes sense for people like Phelps, Lochte, etc., because they make SO much as professional swimmers that it offsets how short their careers are. It doesn’t make sense to scrape by on a job that you know… Read more »
Tragic!
I guess Nic Fink is the only one who can successfully hold a full time job while training for the Summer Olympics.
Situations like this is why a Residency program for national team members could really be a good thing.
It’s a sad situation but he isn’t the only one in this predicament. Jackory Patterson the fastest runner at 400 meters thus far this year had to work a night shift at UPS prior to running that fast time a couple of weeks ago at the GST stop in Miami.
Hunter is very talented (Murphy the best American back stoker for a long time called him the Phelps of backstroke) but for many different reasons he hasn’t gotten where many of us thought he would.
This is tough, glad he’s back!
Props to NYAC who has supported many athletes in this situation – not just swimming but other Olympic sports too
How much does an athlete like Hunter earn from a sponsor per year? I know it differs by athlete and very dependent on performance bonuses, but does anyone know a ballpark figure? Like $50K? $100k?
its pretty wild to me that the two guys who flopped across the board at the olympics got high profile new suit contracts and are being positioned as the new faces of the flop us mens team while one of the few guys who stepped up big time in paris (albeit inconsistently in his individual events) lost his suit contract…….
if hunter didnt split a 46, chalmers would have overtaken dressel!
Who are the two guys your mentioning? Giuliano and Dressel? Dressel is one of the goats so he makes sense, and Giuliano is young and Speedo needs Americans, cuz they only have Regan left who actually competes