Three-Time British Olympian Aimee Willmott Announces Retirement from Swimming

Three-time British Olympian Aimee Willmott has announced her retirement from elite swimming at 28 years old.

The Middlesbrough, England native represented Great Britain at the 2012, 2016, and 2020 Olympic Games.

Thank you Mum, Dad and Sis, @britishswimming, @TeamEngland, @TeamGB, @Lisa__Bates, @SteveTigg, @bradleyhay82, @UofSSwim, & @funkitaswimwear for making my swimming journey the best ❤️

Here’s to being a swammer and the next exiting chapter of my life 🏊🏻‍♀️ pic.twitter.com/VaQ30T57Kt

— Aimee (Willmott) Booker (@aimee_willmott) November 25, 2021

Willmott placed 7th in the 400 IM at each of the last two Olympic Games. In both cases, she was faster in prelims than finals (though her prelims time would not have medaled in the finals in either year).

Aimee Willmott‘s Olympic Results:

• London 2012 – 11th in the 400 IM, 4:38.87
• Rio 2016 – 19th in the 200 fly, 2:09.71
• Rio 2016 – 7th in the 400 IM, 4:35.04
• Tokyo 2020 – 7th in the 400 IM, 4:38.80

Willmott has represented both England and Great Britain at a number of international events, coming away with 8 major senior medals. That includes gold in the 400 IM at the most recent edition of the Commonwealth Games in 2018, and silver at the 2020 European Championships in the same event.

Willmott swam for London Roar in the 2020 International Swimming League season. She finished the regular season with 60 points (10 points/match) in MVP scoring, ranking her 138th in the league.

Her father, Stuart Willmott, represented Great Britain in the 1500 free and 400 IM at the 1984 Summer Olympics.

Willmott graduated from the University of East London, where she studied at the School of Health, Sport, and Bioscience. In 2018, she published her dissertation in the European Journal of Sports Science, where she studied the impact of wearing warm clothes on deck prior to a swimming race.

Willmott’s announcement:

For as long as I remember, I have always been a ‘swimmer.’ I won my first national title at 11 years old and since then I have had one hell of a journey.

The European Youth Olympics at 14 really lit a fire within me and it was then I knew I wanted to become an Olympian. In 2012, in front of a home crowd, that dream became a reality, and it was a swim I will never forget. Since I’ve won European silver medals, become a Commonwealth Champion, and represented my country at a further 2 Olympic Games…but it’s not just the accolades I’ll cherish. I have traveled the world and shared these amazing experiences with some awesome teammates, incredible coaches, and the best support staff in the business!

In 2017 I moved to Stirling thinking my swimming career would soon end but here I am hanging up my goggles 4 years later. Being around such an inspirational group of swimmers gave me the drive to keep going and better myself. I can’t thank my teammates enough for reminding me why I started swimming in the first place!

Not many people have a parent that went to an Olympic Games, let alone in the same sport and in the same event, so I’m one of the lucky ones. My Dad was with me during my very first length of the pool and has been with me every length since. He has of course had some pretty loud company in the stands, with incredible support from my Mom and Sister too!

Here’s to my next journey, being a public swimmer (hopefully still in the fast lane), inspiring and fangirling over the next generation.