American distance swimmer Sierra Schmidt has announced that she will retire from competitive swimming upon the conclusion of the 2023 U.S. National Championships. Schmidt will swim the 400 freestyle on Friday at Trials as her final race. She is entered as the 12th seed in the 400 free, holding an entry time of 4:12.75.
Schmidt is also entered in the
women’s 1500 free on Saturday, seeded 15th, but it sounds as though she’ll sit
that one out.
Schmidt has been one of the top
distance swimmers in the United States for several years and while she’s never
competed at the Olympics or World Championships, she has represented the U.S.
at various international events.
In 2014, she collected two gold
medals in Maui at the Junior Pan Pacific Championships, winning the 800 and
1500 freestyle. The following year, she did double duty for the U.S. when she
raced at both the 2015 Pan American Games and the 2015 World Junior Championships.
She stood atop the 800 freestyle podium at both meets and picked up a pair of
silver medals at World Juniors in the 400 and 1500 freestyle.
Among Schmidt’s other accomplishments
include winning back-to-back bronz medals in the 400 freestyle at the 2017 and
2019 World University Games.
The 25-year-old also had a successful
collegiate career at the University of Michigan, competing as a Wolverine from
2017 to 2021.
She qualified for the NCAA
Championships in all four of her years in Ann Arbor (but only raced at three as
the meet was canceled in 2020). As a senior, Schmidt placed third in the 1650
freestyle and fourth in the 500 at the NCAA Championships. She also won the Big
Ten title that year in the 800 free relay and picked up runner-up honors in the
1650 free.
Last summer, Schmidt made the move to
Tempe to train with the pro group at Arizona State.
While she is certainly known for her
distance swimming abilities, Schmidt has also become known for her unique
pre-race ritual. Before her races, Schmidt would dance while listening to
music. SwimSwam reported on the entertaining routine as early as 2014 and she
continued to dance her way into races for the rest of her career. In May 2022,
Schmidt participated in the first season of NBC television series Dancing With
Myself, which was canceled after that first season.
BY BEN DORNAN
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