BETHANY GALAT ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT FROM SWIMMING

from SW Biweekly September 21, 2021 Issue

FROM OLYMPICS TO ISL, BRITISH STAR DUNCAN SCOTT HAS BEEN CONSISTENTLY EXCELLENT

BY MATTHEW DE GEORGE

Bethany Galat, who won silver medals in breaststroke at the World Championships, has announced her retirement from swimming at age 26.

Galat made the announcement on Instagram. The former Texas A&M standout made a run at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics but fell short in the breaststroke events.

From her post: I don’t prefer long posts, but after nearly 20 years, how could I adequately express the impact swimming’s made in my life? God graciously guided me into realizing that I was content with what swimming’s given me, and am ready to move on to challenging myself elsewhere. I’m excited to say I’ll be starting Galat won silver medals in the women’s 200 breaststroke at both the 2017 World Championships in Budapest and the 2018 Short-Course Worlds in Hangzhou in 2018. She also won silver at the 2019 Pan Am Games.

Galat was an SEC champion in the 200 breast at Texas A&M, part of the Aggies ascent to the national scene. She was the first current Texas A&M swimmer to medal at a major international event when she did so in 2017.

The native of Mishawaka, Ind., extended her career a year to chase the Tokyo Games when it was postponed by the COVID-19 pandemic. She swam for the DC Trident in the International Swimming League in 2020 to bridge to the Olympic Trials.

Galat finished fourth in both breaststroke events to miss out on a Tokyo Trip. She was .47 seconds behind Lydia Jacoby, the eventual Olympic champion, in the 100 breast and 1.06 seconds shy of eventual silver medalist Lilly King in the 200. Both fields were historically deep with talent, much of it on display in ISL now.

Among the things she was sacrificing for another year in the pool was a chance to start her career and use the degree in food science she earned at A&M, all of which weighed in her decision to carry on. ◄