The history-making swimmer, who found her greatest successes in open water, opens up about her retirement plans after missing out on qualifying for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in the women's Marathon Swimming event.
Alice Dearing, the first Black woman to swim for Great Britain at the Olympics, called time on her competitive swimming career this week.
Dearing's Olympic moment came in the 10km Marathon Swimming event at the Tokyo 2020 Games, where she finished in 19th place. The 27-year-old first made a name for herself on the global stage when she won gold in 2016 at the World Junior Open Water Swimming Championships in Hoorn, Netherlands.
Just days ago, Dearing took to Instagram to share the news: “As I move into the next phase of my career, I'm announcing my retirement from the sport. Now it's about continuing to give opportunities to more and more people to help them discover their potential, whatever that may be.
"It's been fun - I would do it all again in a heartbeat."
🇬🇧Alice Dearing Olympian, history maker and barrier breaker has announced her retirement from elite swimming 😢 #swimming pic.twitter.com/jkafRROBLR
— World Aquatics (@WorldAquatics) April 24, 2024
Dearing leaves a lasting legacy in aquatics as the presenter of the Sky Sports documentary Aquaphobia, which examines the barriers to swimming Black and Asian communities in the United Kingdom face. Dearing also co-founded the Black Swimming Association in 2020 to challenge the perception of what Black people can do in the water.
On her post-retirement plans, Dearing said: "I want to keep empowering people to enjoy swimming in their own way.
"I have been dipping my toes in the eSports arena a little bit so I would love to explore my opportunities there.
"Sport is such a key part of my life, it has given me everything I have and I am so grateful."