Georgina Lee, British record holder for 200m butterfly and a gold medal winner at the 2002 Commonwealth games has announced that she is retiring from swimming. Lee has been part of the British national team for the past nine years, in an international career that delivered a European short course bronze medal and a further silver and bronze medals in Manchester.
The 23-year-old Camp Hill Edwardians swimmer’s decision to retire is a combination of a number of factors, but she is in no doubt the time is right for her to call time on her time in the sport.
“Many things collectively have lead to my decision to retire. I’ve been injured recently with a bulging disc in my back that’s been a big factor. I’ve not been able to train these last few months as I would have liked.” she said “Following the Athens Olympics I had to consider my future with swimming as I didn’t perform to my expectations and I found it very demoralising. There were matters beyond my control that didn’t help me and left me disappointed.”
For the past four years Lee has been training and studying at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas and recently graduated with a degree in economics with financial applications, a qualification she intends to use in her future career.
Still the British Record holder over the 100m and 200m Butterfly events, Lee has few regrets about calling time or her achievements in the pool.
“As a swimmer you’re always setting further goals for yourself. When you achieve one you set yourself another so you never achieve all your goals. I’ve been to two Olympics, have broken many British Records, I’ve won medals at major international meets and therefore I feel I’ve achieved a great deal.”