Two Months After Signaling Retirement, 18-Year-Old Abbey Connor Resurfaces in Peak Form

2023 AUSTRALIAN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP TRIALS

Two months after appearing to retire from competitive swimming, Abbey Connor has resurfaced at the 2023 Australian World Championship Trials this week without missing a beat.

The 18-year-old qualified second for the women’s 200 butterfly final on Friday night with a time of 2:08.46, just a tenth of a second off her personal-best 2:08.36 from last year’s Commonwealth Games. Connor reached the wall only about half a second behind 19-year-old Elizabeth Dekkers in prelims on Friday morning, more than two seconds ahead of two-time Olympian Brianna Throssell (2:10.50).

WOMEN’S 200 BUTTERFLY – HEATS

  • World Record: 2:01.81, Liu Zige (2009)
  • Commonwealth Record: 2:03.41, Jessicah Schipper (2009)
  • Australian Record: 2:03.41, Jessicah Schipper (2009)
  • All Comers Record: 2:05.41, Madeline Groves (2015)
  • Swimming Australia QT: 2:07.89
  • World Aquatics ‘A’ Cut: 2:09.21

Top 8 Qualifiers:

  1. Elizabeth Dekkers – 2:07.94
  2. Abbey Connor – 2:08.46
  3. Brianna Throssell – 2:10.50
  4. Bella Grant – 2:10.77
  5. Laura Taylor – 2:12.35
  6. Brittany Castelluzzo – 2:12.73
  7. Kayla Hardy – 2:13.99
  8. Rafaela Kopellou – 2:14.25

Connor will need to drop another .57 seconds during tonight’s final in order to hit Swimming Australia’s qualifying time of 2:07.89.

Earlier in the week, she placed sixth in the 100 fly with a personal-best 58.69, shaving over a second off her previous-best 59.81 from last April.

This past April, Connor signaled her retirement from the sport when she posted on Instagram in a now-deleted post thanking her friends, family, doctors, and coach for their support while adding “see you later swimming” at the end.

“All I can say is thank you to every single person who has been with me in this wild, wild ride,” wrote Connor, who trains with coach Alex Clarke at the Revesby Workers Swim Club. “To the people behind the scenes, my family, my coach, physios/doctors and friends, your unconditional support was incredible and inspiring. You all deserve the world and so much more. See you later swimming.”

Last year, Connor shaved nearly a second and a half off her best 200-meter butterfly time at Australian Trials, earning a runner-up finish in 2:08.58 behind Dekkers (2:07.62). In August, Connor made her Commonwealth Games debut, clocking a personal-best 2:08.36 and missing out on the bronze medal by just .04 seconds behind the 27-year-old Throssell. Dekkers topped the podium in 2:07.26.

Connor burst onto the national scene in March of 2021 when the then-15-year-old went 2:12.60 in the 200 fly at the NSW State Age Championships, lowering an age record set by Michelle Ford way back in 1978. A year later, she was chosen to represent Australia at the World Junior Open Water Championships in the Seychelles.

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Dee
1 year ago

It would be some story if she were to hit the QT later.

It was a bit odd before (her ‘retirement’), now it’s extremely weird. Can any Australians divulge the story here, because it just doesn’t add up?

bubbles
Reply to  Dee
1 year ago

idk tbh.

i think this theory might be unrealistic, but maybe what happened was that she had a sudden urge to retire and did so not really thinking about, then later changed her mind?

Dee
Reply to  bubbles
1 year ago

She clearly wasn’t out of the pool for long/at all to be going a PB by a full second in a 100, so you may well be right. We all do rash things we instantly regret at that age. Whatever the story is, I’m glad she stayed in the sport

Last edited 1 year ago by Dee
bubbles
Reply to  Dee
1 year ago

same, she just qualified for worlds!

RumourMill
Reply to  bubbles
1 year ago

Looks like a change in coaching/lifestyle – has been wearing UniSC cap so perhaps has moved to Palfrey at the Sunny Coast hub.

About Riley Overend

Riley is an associate editor interested in the stories taking place outside of the pool just as much as the drama between the lane lines. A 2019 graduate of Boston College, he arrived at SwimSwam in April of 2022 after three years as a sports reporter and sports editor at newspapers …

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