Decorated Canadian swimmer Maggie Mac Neil announces retirement at 24

Canadian swimmer Maggie Mac Neil announced her retirement from the sport on Thursday, marking the end of a decorated career that includes three Olympic medals.

The 24-year-old from London, Ont., made the announcement on social media, saying "Anyone who I crossed paths with never, ever told me I couldn't achieve my goal of going to the Olympics. It's still surreal to be able to say I'm a 2xOlympian."

The two-time Olympian was named the best female athlete of the Tokyo Games in 2021 after winning her signature event — the women's 100-metre butterfly — and adding silver in the 4x100m freestyle relay and bronze in the 4x100m medley relay.

Mac Neil, who wants to attend law school, had originally planned to leave competitive swimming after Tokyo but felt she missed out on swimming opportunities during the pandemic and opted to extend her career.

Mac Neil holds the short-course world records in the 50m backstroke and 100m butterfly, which she set in 2022 while retaining her world titles in Melbourne, Australia. She captured eight gold medals at the short-course world championships in two years.

Her collection of 19 career world-championship medals also includes the 2019 long-course world title in the 100m butterfly.

Mac Neil won seven career medals at the Pan American Games, with five of the golden variety last year in Santiago, Chile. She also took home the Commonwealth Games title in the 100m butterfly as part of a five-medal haul at the 2022 edition in Birmingham, England.

Mac Neil, who began competing at eight years old, was born in Jiujang, China, when the country's one-child policy was still in effect. She was adopted by her Canadian parents at age one and started swimming when she was two.

She swam collegiately for three years at the University of Michigan under coach Rick Bishop, winning a pair of NCAA titles before reuniting with him at Louisiana State University. Mac Neil capped off her college swimming career by setting the NCAA record in the 50-yard freestyle at the 2023 NCAA championships.