- Chelsea Hodges, 22, has retired from competitive swimming
- Aussie won Olympic gold in 4x100m medley relay in Tokyo
- Succession of serious injuries left Hodges with no choice
Australian swimming star Chelsea Hodges has been forced to retire just before the Paris Games as she fights agonising hip and back problems usually seen in someone almost three times her age.
Hodges - who was a member of the women's 4x100m medley relay team that won gold at the Tokyo Olympics - made the agonising decision based on medical advice.
The 22-year-old is widely considered Australia's best women's breaststroker, but she has walked away after being told her injuries were so severe her hip resembles that of a 60-year-old woman.
Hodges knew her time was up when she had to withdraw from the recent Australian Swimming Championships due to injury.
Australian swimming star Chelsea Hodges has been forced to retire effective immediately ahead of the Paris Games due to agonising hip and back complaints
Hodges - who was a member of the women's 4x100m medley relay team (pictured, second from left) that won gold at the Tokyo Olympics - made the agonising decision based on medical advice
With the Olympic trials in Brisbane next month, Hodges wanted to go out on her own terms despite the emotion behind the decision.
'Being in pain all the time is very tiring. You are mentally and physically drained,' she told the Sydney Morning Herald.
'I just wanted the pain to end. It feels like someone is grinding my bones any time I move and [then] drilling a hole into my leg.
'Once it started getting sore again, I think I knew deep down that Paris wasn't going to happen. I'm not ecstatic that I have to retire … but once I knew what my life would look like if I continued, it was an easy decision.'
Hodges has been forced to endure a number of injuries since her early teens.
The 22-year-old said the pain from her injury is so bad it 'feels like someone is drilling a hole into my leg'
At 15, she needed surgery to repair torn cartilage in her left hip, and then in 2022 she tested positive to COVID, which worsened her asthma.
Next was a knee injury before a stint in hospital due to low blood sugar levels.
Incredibly, Hodges last year suffered a stress fracture in her back, meaning she was out of the water for six weeks.
Currently studying to be a nurse - plus eventual plans to fall pregnant - leaves Hodges assured she has made the right decision.
Specialists told her swimming could be detrimental to her long team health, so in the end the decision was the right one.
Hodges will also attend the Olympic trials in Brisbane next month to cheer on her old teammates - but is unlikely to watch the 100m breaststroke final as it will be 'too raw.'
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