As the closing ceremony of the 2020 Olympics has shut the doors on another remarkable Games experience, we’re starting to see notable retirement announcements begin to trickle in.
The latest comes from Germany, as Franziska Hentke has revealed she will be hanging up her goggles after a storied career.
“Time to say goodbye” is now the 32-year-old began her Instagram post announced her retirement decision.
Hentke was a mainstay on the women’s 200m butterfly scene, wrangling up 6 medals across her World Championships and European Championships appearances. Her most recent piece of hardware came at the 2017 FINA World Championships in Budapest here she claimed 200m fly silver.
In Tokyo, Hentke placed 13th out of the women’s 200m fly semi-finals in a time of 2:10.89.
Hentke owns the German national records in both the short course and long course 200m fly, with times of 2:03.01 and 2:05.26, respectively, which were both set in 2015.
Reflecting on her accomplishments, Hentke said, “For 26 years, swimming taught me that will, passion, hard work and ambition pay off in order to be successful. I went to my limit every day to get the most out of my body and achieve my goals. Tens of thousands of kilometers in the water, about 2 years of altitude training camp, countless liters of sweat, hardships are now behind me and have paid off.
“My career was marked by a lot of successes, but I also suffered a few defeats. But anyone who knows me knows that giving up was never an option for me and that I kept getting up.
“My last big goal was to be in the final in Tokyo. Even if it wasn’t enough in the end, I’m proud that I was able to stand on the starting block again at my second Olympic Games.
“Today I look back with pride on an intensive, instructive, demanding, but above all a wonderful journey. It was an unbelievably great and unforgettable time, and I wouldn’t want to miss a single minute of it. I was able to experience unique moments, get to know a wide variety of people, travel the world and make friendships for life.
“Now the time has come to end my active career as a swimmer. It was an honor for me!”
One of the few bright spots in German swimming of the past decade before the emergence of Wellbrock and Kohler. Congratulations on a great career!
Danke shoen Franziska. YOu have been a mainstay of the German team for many years. Have always enjoyed watching you swim. Best to you as you embark on a new course in life.