I planned to stop in 2002 after the Salt Lake City Olympics. I felt able to remain competitive another four years, and I wanted to stop while I'm still at the top.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
In sports, people reach their peak very early. You have to move on. I don't know if I will ever surpass what I did at the Olympics, but I'm still doing the work I always wanted to do.
Most people take long breaks after Olympics. I needed some normalcy back in my life, so I came back to the pool.
After I went through two years of not winning an event, what kept me going was winning one more major. Once I won that last U.S. Open, I spent the next six months trying to figure out what was next. Slowly my passion for the sport just vanished. I had nothing left to prove.
For so long I wanted to win the gold medal. Then I won. I had to figure out what was the new motivation to take myself to that place again.
I've been lucky enough to travel the world and win awards and medals, but it was time to stop.
It always has been a goal of mine to compete in the Olympics. Right after I graduated from college, I moved out to Salt Lake City with my mind focused on making the 2014 team.
I've been an athlete and competitor my whole life, and there's nothing more that I get off on than competition.
When I started this I wanted to get back in the pool, I wanted to race and I wanted to go to the Olympics. I still want to do all of those things.
But inside of me I knew that the Olympics were still there. I was still young enough. I knew that once I transitioned out of hockey, it would be really hard to go back.
I really didn't feed off the whole Olympic experience at all, and I regret that from an athletic perspective, and also from a personal experience. I feel like I missed out, so I'm not going to do that this time.
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