American swimmer and two-time Olympian and three-time Olympic medalist Erika Connolly (formerly Brown) announced her retirement this afternoon via an Instagram post.
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Connolly made her first Olympic team in 2021 after finishing 2nd at Olympic Trials in the women’s 100 freestyle. At the Games, she finished 13th after winning a swim off for the semifinal. She won two Olympic medals at those Games, earning a silver medal for her prelims swim on the freestyle leg of the women’s 400 medley relay, and a bronze medal for her leadoff swim of the women’s 400 freestyle relay.
She was also a member of the 2024 team, swimming on the prelims leg of the 400 freestyle relay that went on to win a silver medal.
Before the Olympics, she swam in the ISL as a member of the Cali Condors in 2020 and 2021. While with the team, she helped the Condors to a first place finish in the ISL in 2020 with a 6th place finish in the 100 free and a 5th place finish in the 100 fly. She also swam on the mixed 400 free relay and the women’s 400 free and 400 medley relays.
She swam collegiately at Tennessee, where she was a member of the Tennessee SEC Championship team in 2020. She also won the SEC female swimmer of the meet two years in a row (2019 and 2020), and at her final SEC Championships, she broke the American Record in the 100 butterfly at 49.38.
Over the course of her Tennessee career, she won 18 gold medals at the SEC Championships and she won one gold, three silver, and one bronze medal at the NCAA Championships.
In June, she swam her last meet at the 2025 USA Swimming National Championships, where she finished 30th in the 50 freestyle in 25.92.
Connolly is currently expecting her first child, a boy due in December, with husband Alec Connolly, who was also a swimmer at Tennessee.
View this post on Instagram
Connolly revealed in her Instagram caption that she will not be saying goodbye to swimming, as she will be working with swimwear brand Mizuno, who she was sponsored by during her time as a professional swimmer.
How is she a strange person?
Never forget
https://swimswam.com/tennessees-erika-brown-swims-wrong-stroke-in-200-medley-relay-prelims-vols-out-of-final/
NOT NICE!
working at mizuno sounds fun!
I’ll never understand the vitriol on this site toward Erika. People cherry picked thru her beliefs and faith as though that was her story. Her true story was one of an under-equipped individual – someone of below average height, strength, physical gifts – who figured out how to compete at a world class level against competitors who towered over her. Her mastery of the finite details of this sport should be an inspiration to those who instruct the less gifted. Her work ethic and drive – from wherever it came – should be held up as something supernatural, not mocked Two Olympics, SEC champ, college legend, all from a pint sized 2nd tier high school recruit….and all she did along… Read more »
Her story was her physical construction that she can’t control versus her moral compass that she could?
That’s maybe not the take that you think it is. Why aren’t both things her story?
Also “punching bag” is a bit dramatic, don’t you think?
It’s not dramatic when y’all are crying about people’s beliefs like it matters whatsoever to their career
I’m clearly oblivious. What is the controversy here?
She has a right to her own religious beliefs even if I don’t share them.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts. Erika is an amazing young woman and athlete. She knows that persecution comes with the territory of living her faith and beliefs fully. Wishing her the very best in the post competitive swimming phase of her life. She gets it and will continue to be full of love, joy and peace.
what did she do? i saw over on usa swimming insta they disabled comments on her post
Is that true? Or just husband?
Very true
weirdest comment ever