Two-time Olympic bronze medalist Hali Flickinger announces retirement at the age of 29

Two-time Olympian Hali Flickinger has officially announced her retirement from swimming. Flickinger was a part of the American swimming squad at the 2016 Rio Olympics and 2020 Tokyo Olympics and clinched two bronze medals in the latter.

Flickinger last competed at the US Nationals in Indianapolis in summer 2023 where she finished seventh in the women's 200m butterfly. Her timing of 2:08.32 was agonizingly short of the qualifying time and cost her the spot in the 2023 World Aquatics Championships squad.

She posted about her retirement on Instagram in an informal manner, stating:

“In 3 weeks I bought a house, have since completed my athletic career, and now living here full time with no plans of leaving!!”

According to the Instagram post, Flickinger moved to Arizona in 2019. Originally, she planned to stay there for a few years while pursuing her career and then return to the East Coast, where she belonged.

However, things changed when she fell in love with Arizona and bought a house there within just three weeks. She now lives there with no plans to leave the southwestern US state.

Earlier, in an interview with Swimming World in December 2022, she talked about how she wanted her worth to be beyond the swimming world, stating:

“I have been pushing and pushing and I am tired of feeling like swimming defines me, and feeling like my worth is swimming. Sadly, it got to the point where I thought it was all over. I had to find something else. When you feel like your worth depends on your performance, that is when it all goes wrong.”

Hali Flickinger clinched two bronze medals at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in the women’s 200m butterfly (2:05.65) and 400m individual medley (4:34.90). She is a two-time medalist at the World Championships, having won gold in 4x200m freestyle relay in 2017, and silver in 200m butterfly in 2019.

Hali Flickinger posts about her realtor business on Instagram

Hali Flickinger during the FINA Swimming World Cup Berlin on October 22, 2022 (Photo by Oliver Hardt/Getty Images)

Hali Flickinger defines herself as a real estate agent, having taken up the role in 2022. She now works as a full-time realtor based in Phoenix East Valley, alongside her husband Martin, and is associated with the same brokerage firm (MHG).

Flickinger posted about her real estate business for the first time on Instagram in February 2023. However, she actively started using the platform for business purposes around July 2023.

She not only uploads different property listings regularly but also posts about enjoying her life as a real estate agent. Flickinger has around 50,000 followers on her Instagram.