2-time Olympian Jess Ashwood of Australia quietly retired from swimming in 2018 after an impressive career that saw the 26-year-old wreak havoc on her nation’s record boards.
The freestyle ace first made a name for herself at the 2015 World Championships in Kazan, where the then-22-year-old earned bronze in the women’s 400m freestyle. Ashwood would go on to finish 7th in the women’s 400m freestyle, 5th in the 800m freestyle and earn a silver medal via her prelims swim as a member of her nation’s 4x200m freestyle relay at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio.
Since, however, she has seen another Aussie teen in the form of Ariarne Titmus take control of the Aussie distance game, wreaking havoc across all free distances from the 200m to the 1500m. Ashwood ultimately wound up withdrawing from the 2016 Short Course World Championships and also the 2018 Pan Pacific Championships 18 months later.
The Sydney Morning Herald produced an article today revealing the hardships the Chandler athlete endured throughout her career. Diagnosed with a mild case of scoliosis at age 13, Ashwood’s condition worsened dramatically. She told SMH that it went from being mild to severe within a year.
“They measure the curves and it depends on the degrees. My first x-rays… I had two curves… they were both in the 40s [degrees].
“Normally if you are young and it’s in the 40s, you would get the surgery done, because it always progresses, just because of gravity. You can get a brace, a plastic thing you wear outside your clothes, but you have to wear it 22 hours a day.
“I would have had to quit swimming. I wasn’t in any pain at that time so we didn’t go ahead with the surgery.”
You can read more about Ashwood’s remarkable story of perseverance here. She still holds the Australian National Record in the LCM and SCM 1500 freestyle and remains the nation’s #2 performer behind Titmus in the 400m and 800m.
My best wishes and blessings to Jess. I’m sure her surgery was a success. As a German trained Schroth Therapist and physical therapist in Chapel Hill NC, I have seen many teens with scoliosis prevent their curves from becoming so severe that surgery was required. In recent research studies, Schroth scoliosis therapy in combination with bracing was proven to be more effective than the standard of care, watching and waiting, that is used for many patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. Please consider Schroth if you are diagnosed with scoliosis.
jess is a legend and a beautiful soul…
“I finished the sport in a way where I still loved it and had no negative feelings. I’m grateful for what I was able to do.”
So nice to hear a top swimmer retire with those sentiments. Also, she added 10 cm (4″) after the surgery! Wow!
Her 1500 was worth at least 10secs more . She did it in an historic outdoor pool with no fancy filters, gutters , blocks & standing height for 1/3 of the length. Every turn in the shallow end would have been compromised for safety .
You mean Wickham?
No . Townsville ‘s Tobruk Pool june 2015 .. It was spectacular swim in abeautiful iconic pool . Im sure it is a highlight of her swimming .. If she had ahealthy spine it was worth 20secs. .
Seriously, click on the link and have a look at the xray of her spine-you will be stunned. To think she swam faster than Wickhams WRs for example with a spine like that is incredible.
This comes as little surprise as she has not been seen in competition for the last 12 months and her injury issues have seen her performances post Rio some distance below her best. That she was able to achieve what she did under the circumstances she has endured is immensely creditable. She has made a sensible decision and I sincerely wish her all the best in whatever she may pursue in the future
What a resilient young woman. She achieved much in her career. I always knew she had an unconventional stroke, but I had no idea how much she had to rely on video technology and the guidance of her coaches to get it right. Remarkable!