Olympic swimming medallist Sarah Wellbrock retires because of health issues

The German swimmer won her medal in the 1,500-meter freestyle as Sarah Köhler at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 in a race won by Katie Ledecky.

Sarah Wellbrock (Kohler) of Germany poses with her bronze medal after the women’s 1500-meters freestyle final at the 2020 Summer Olympics. | Photo Credit: AP

Olympic swimming bronze medallist Sarah Wellbrock is retiring from the sport a year before the Paris Games because of longstanding health issues, she said Wednesday.

The German swimmer won her medal in the 1,500-meter freestyle as Sarah Köhler at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 in a race won by Katie Ledecky. Wellbrock was in second place before being overtaken for the silver medal by American swimmer Erica Sullivan near the end.

“The sport of swimming was part of me for almost my entire life and determined my daily schedule for the last 18 years,” Wellbrock wrote in a farewell post on Instagram. “But for more than two years my body has no longer been able to put up with the strain. I gave everything for an Olympic medal and I was rewarded but now, for my own good, I have to draw a line.”

The 28-year-old Wellbrock, whose medal in Tokyo was the first for Germany in the pool since 2008, said she shed “countless tears” before making her decision to retire.

Wellbrock was also European champion in the 800 in 2017 and a world champion in the open water mixed relay in 2019.