Aussie musician Cody Simpson surprised the world in 2019 when he first announced that he would be shifting his focus onto competitive swimming.
The 27-year-old has given his all over the past four years, and after a devastatingly unsuccessful campaign at the Olympic qualifying trials, Cody has now called time on his swimming career.
Taking to Instagram on 17 June, just two days after the 2024 Australian Olympic swim team was announced, Cody uploaded a photo of his national swimming pendant alongside a touching personal message.
“All you can do is everything you can to take what you’ve been given as far as you can take it. You owe yourself the honour of cultivating your talents with as much fervour and intensity as you can. The privilege of becoming what you’re capable of becoming.
“I left nothing to the unknown these past 4 years and I can now rest knowing I put my pedal to the floor every day and covered every other little detail to take this as far it could go and it sure went a hell of a ways. I made sure I was a gangster in my training, meticulous in my preparation and fearless in my competing every step of the way.
“I’m grateful for a huge run in the short amount of time I have been a professional athlete and I wouldn’t trade a moment. I promise I will never stop trying to do special things with my life. Shoot for the moon.. land among the stars. My shot has landed me in a constellation of stars otherwise known as that elusive club, the Australian Swim Team, forever. Thank you swimming.”
He signed off the message with “Australian Dolphin #838”.
The 27-year-old also uploaded a follow-up post almost a month later, confirming the news of his retirement.
“Hell of a ride. I had a personal theory and wanted to see if, with sheer grit and determination, it would prove. It did. So that’s me for now,” he wrote.
“Thank you Australia for supporting me every step. To my coaches and support staff. To my family and loved ones. […] And finally, to the sport of swimming for saving my life, and making me who I am.”
Friends, fans, fellow swimmers and other celebrities took to the comment section to congratulate Cody on his hard work and determination over the past few years.
“Your commitment to the dream was awe inspiring, thank you for taking us all along on the journey 🌟💯,” former Olympic swimmer Giaan Rooney shared.
Meanwhile, Channel Nine presenters Karl Stefanovic and Richard Wilkins also left messages of support, with Karl saying, “Very proud of you Cody. You absolutely committed. Extraordinary strength of character. ❤️”.
Richard simply wrote, “#champion ❤️”.
Cody’s girlfriend Emma McKeon commented, “Absolutely incredible, you left no stone unturned ❤️ I love you”, while Olympic swimming legend Libby Trickett wrote, “
“Huge. What an incredible adventure. On to the next one 👏.”
Though Cody was an extremely talented junior swimmer, when his music career took off at the age of just 13, his swimming aspirations took a backseat.
It was only in 2019 that the singer decided to turn his focus back onto competitive swimming, with the goal of making the Olympic Games.
The 27-year-old has seen some success in the sport, namely attending the 2022 Commonwealth Games where he received a medal as a heat swimmer in the 4×100 metre freestyle relay team.
Not only that, but Cody also has swimming to thank for his long-time partner, fellow swimmer Emma McKeon.
Now that he has hung up his goggles, Cody has alluded to returning his focus onto his music.
“The discipline and resilience and perseverance that swimming has again instilled in me is something that I’m really excited to implement in my future endeavours because it has just helped me grow so much.
“And how I can take that back into music and entertainment and see what I can do — there’s some exciting projects lined up for after this that I was going to go back and do regardless of how this week went,” he shared following the swimming trials.
Cody has since released a new song called Fly, which is about his swimming journey, and will be performing the national anthem at the 2024 AFL Grand Final on Saturday 28 September.
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