Australia’s greatest ever Paralympian swimmer Matthew Cowdrey retires from swimming immediately
WHEN Matthew Cowdrey sat down with his coach over summer to plan their road to Rio, for the first time in his career he couldn’t picture himself on the starting blocks.
WHEN Matthew Cowdrey sat down with his coach over summer to plan their road to Rio, for the first time in his career he couldn’t picture himself on the starting blocks.
Unlike some elite swimmers who succumb to burnout or go stir crazy after years staring at the thin black line on the bottom of the pool, Cowdrey wasn’t sick of swimming.
But he was ready to do something else.
on Tuesday, after 13 gold medals, 16 world titles and 14 world records he retired from the sport as Australia’s greatest ever Paralympian.
Not even the lure of a fourth Games in Rio in 18 months or a home Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast in 2018 could change his mind.
“For the first time - and that’s the lightning rod to this decision - I sat down and really could not envisage myself on the blocks in Rio,” Cowdrey said from the Adelaide pooldeck named in his honour.
“Over the last couple of months I’ve really come to the realisation that I’ve achieved what I wanted to achieve and I’m very lucky to have done that.
“But I’ve got so many things I want to achieve in my life and I think it’s time to step away and to get on with life.”
Having finished his law and media degree at university the next phase of Cowdrey’s life is a job in management consulting with KPMG, building a new house and working on his golf game.
He also hasn’t ruled out venturing into politics after completing an internship with US Congress in Washington DC in 2013.
The 26-year-old has been out of the pool for two months and hasn’t competed since the national short course championships in Adelaide last year.
His last major international competitions were the Glasgow Commonwealth Games and Pan Pacific Championships in 2014.
His next competition would have been the national long course titles in Sydney in April which double as selection trials for the world championships.
“I know I could get in the pool now and still be capable of getting on the Australian swimming team but is that what I want to do?” Cowdrey said.
“I don’t want to put myself in the position where I’m not training to my full capacity and not giving 100 per cent of myself to swimming if that’s not what I want.”
Cowdrey, a left-arm below elbow congenital amputee, began swimming in Adelaide’s northern suburbs at the age of eight and was soon beating his able-bodied rivals.
He made his first international team at the age of 13 and made his Paralympic debut two years later at 15 in Athens in 2004 before competing in Beijing and London for a combined 23 medals.
Cowdrey nominates two of the 13 gold medals as “career highlights” and they both came in London in 2012.
The 11th gold medal which made him Australia’s most successful Paralympian of all time and the 13th and final gold which was witnessed by his parents who took a last-minute flight to London just 24 hours earlier.
“To have my parents there supporting me was very special, they hadn’t seen a Paralympic gold medal (live) until that point and for (sponsor) Uncle Toby’s to have gotten them there to be able to see one is made even more special by this announcement,” he said.
Cowdrey won’t miss the early morning starts for training but he will miss his teammates.
“Easily what I’m going to miss most is the people,” he said.
“We don’t swim up and down a pool looking at a black line for fun, it’s the trips away, the people and friends both on the Australian swim team and around the world, it’s pretty special.”
Australian Paralympic Committee president Glenn Tasker said aside from his achievements in the pool Cowdrey had been a great ambassador for Paralympic sport.
“Matthew’s commitment and determination could never be questioned and his performances and success in the pool have been a contributing factor to the increase in profile for the Australian Paralympic movement over the past 10 years,” Mr Tasker said.