Michelle Coleman, a four-time Olympian for Sweden, officially announced her retirement via Instagram today.
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Coleman, now 31, said in her post that her “decision has come with ore certainty than [she] ever thought.” She went on to say “I look back on my career with pride and indescribably JOY of everything i’ve experienced.”
She began her senior international swimming career in 2009 with her participation in the World Cup stop in Stockholm in November, and later her appearance at the European Short Course Championships in December at the age of 15.
In December 2010, she competed in her first World Championships, swimming on the prelims versions of the 4×100 and 4×200 freestyle relays of the SC Champs in Dubai. In July of 2011 she competed on the prelims 4×100 freestyle relay at the World Championships in Shanghai.
She continued competing on international relays for Sweden, traveling to London for the 2012 Olympics as a member of the 4×100 freestyle relay, but the relay was disqualified in the final.
Later that year, Coleman swam her first set of individual events at the 2012 SC World Championships in Turkey. There, she finished 6th in the 100 freestyle and 19th in the 200 freestyle. At the 2013 World Championships in Spain, she finished 12th in the 100 free and 10th in the 200 free.
She continued swimming the 100 and 200 freestyle for Sweden through the rest of her career, and she added the 50 free to her lineup soon after. She also occasionally swam odd events like the 50 back, 50 fly, 100 IM and 100 back. Ultimately she finished her career with 39 Swimming World Cup Medals, five SC World Champs medals (2 golds, 1 silver, 1 bronze), and two World Championships medals (both silver). Her Worlds medals all came from her participation on relays for Sweden.
She also won five European Championships medals, including a bronze in the 100 freestyle in 2014, and eight European Short Course Championships medals, one of which was a gold in the 50 freestyle in 2023.
Coleman competed in two ISL seasons for the Toronto Titans.
Her first individual event at the Olympic Games came in 2021 when she swam the 50 and 100 freestyles where she finished 20th and 14th respectively. She qualified for the 100 freestyle at the 2016 games, but didn’t end up swimming it, though she did swim on their 4×100 and 4×200 freestyle relays.
At her final Olympic Games in Paris this fall, Coleman swam the 50 and 100 freestyle events, finishing 9th in the 50 and 12th in the 100. She was also a member of Sweden’s 5th place 4×100 freestyle relay team.
Coleman is only three months younger than countrymate Sarah Sjostrom, who also posted about her retirement today, saying
“Today marks the end of an era as my partner in crime, @michellecoleman, announces her retirement from swimming.🎉
From early morning practices to unforgettable race moments, from shared victories to the toughest setbacks, we’ve been through it all together. I couldn’t be prouder of you, not just for everything you’ve achieved in the pool, but for the incredible person you are outside of it. 🎉
Cheers to the beginning of another exciting chapter in your life.🥂”
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Congrats on a great career!
Congratulations on a great career, and such a wonderful person to talk to and be around! Best of luck to you in future endeavors!
P.S.
Coleman was 7th in the 200 free final in Rio 2016.
Who cares? Coleman Hodges is still forging ahead.
@Nicole Miller posted in Slack “Coleman is retiring” and sent the #general to defcon 0.
Top tier