Swimmer Andrew Wilson Took A Unique Path To The Top, Then Ended His Career On His Own Terms

Andrew Wilson and Michael Andrew of the United States reacts after competing in the Men’s 100 meter breaststroke final at the 2021 U.S. Olympic Team Swimming Trials on June 14, 2021 in Omaha, Nebraska.

Every so often, Andrew Wilson looks up from his models and computations to take in his surroundings: high stone walls, gothic arches, cobbled streets — ancient monuments standing side-by-side with the high-tech tools of his applied mathematical studies at Oxford University. 
“It’s this weird combination, but it starts to feel so normal,” said Wilson, 28, who moved to the UK last September, soon after helping Team USA win gold in the 4x100-meter medley at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.
Oxford’s chapel, Christ Church Cathedral, has stood since about 1200. A favorite coffee house, Queen’s Lane on High Street, sometimes jolts Wilson with its sign, “Established 1654.”
“We’re just students, going about our work, doing research or whatever,” he said. “But then you sit somewhere and see something, and it’s, ‘Wait a minute — people have been studying here for a thousand years.’”
The Bethesda, Maryland, native has always done things a bit differently. He didn’t arrive at his alma mater, Emory University, as a swimming recruit; growing up, he was more focused on lacrosse than the pool. It took some convincing to gain a spot on the Eagles’ team.
“I started out as the worst swimmer on the team,” Wilson remembered.
From there, he became Emory’s most decorated swimmer ever, leading the men’s team to its first-ever national championship in 2017. And, at the 2020 Olympic trials, the breaststroker earned a spot on the U.S. Olympic Team, becoming the first Div. III swimmer to do so.
Wilson also excelled academically, developing a love for mathematics and building strong relationships with his professors along the way. 
“I always had the plan to go through 2020, and then go back to grad school,” he said. “I ended up getting another year because of the (COVID-19) postponement. But I knew going into the summer of 2021 that the Games were going to be it for me at that level.”
It may seem as if Wilson moved easily from training and competing full-time, to being a full-time student. But his path required a lot of reflection and planning.
“There are a lot of people that by the time they finish their sport, they are so burned out, they need time to step completely away from it,” he said. “I never was going to be that person. I was very aware that whenever I retired, I was going to really miss swimming. I knew I needed to have something that was going to take up all my time and focus, in order to not be in a bad place mentally when I retired.”
Wilson had long wanted to explore England; he was born in London, where his parents happened to be working at time. When he gained acceptance at Oxford, he knew its demanding program would help him dive head-first into academia.
“If I miss swimming, I kind of have five minutes to feel sorry for myself, and then I have to think about all of the other things I have to do,” he said. 
Still, Wilson wasn’t quite ready to bid the sport goodbye. He joined the university’s swimming club, helping the Oxford Blues defeat rival Cambridge at the 2022 Varsity Match in February. 
“It ended up being a nice kind of soft landing, where I was still in touch with the sport,” he said. “It gave me a little bit more time to transition and figure out how to have a relationship with the sport that was sustainable. Practicing nine times a week, being in the pool for 20-plus hours a week, that’s not sustainable.”

Officially a has been. Had a few words to say, read them if you're interested.https://t.co/90kktQfNtd pic.twitter.com/wJ6UAH9Eg4

— Andrew Wilson (@awil5504) April 22, 2022

By April, Wilson was ready to formally announce his retirement from competitive swimming, with a letter posted on social media.

“I found it cathartic and helpful to try to organize my thoughts and get them out, instead of just storing them in my head,” he said. “And then I think the more I refined it and read it again, the more I felt there were things I wanted people to hear. I guess, in some sense, I wanted to have the final word on what I thought about my career, what I thought I had learned from it and what I thought could help other people.”
He wrote of missing the 2016 Olympic team but gaining the determination to prove himself and try again. He also admitted that, proud as he was of his career, there were moments he regretted and things he wished he had achieved.
“It’s the reality of being an athlete, we’re so competitive and that’s not something you can turn off,” he said. “I still think about some races when I got out touched, and in 30 years, that’s still going to sting. That’s just who I am.
“I think people think they are alone in that,” he added. “I think it’s okay to admit to wanted to do more than you accomplished. I’m sure even if you asked (Michael) Phelps, there is going to be stuff he will say he wished that he did, that he wasn’t able to do.”
When it comes to lending advice to other athletes transitioning out of competition, Wilson stressed that there’s no right or wrong way to do things.
“I would maybe say, do some reflecting and think about what you need,” he said. “I don’t think it’s something someone else can tell you, it’s something you have to decide.”
He also recommends athletes take advantage of resources offered by United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee, or their sports’ governing body.
“USA Swimming has sports psych on staff, and I worked with them for the last couple of years,” he said. “There were definitely times this year I found more difficult than others. Around the world swimming championships in December was an especially hard time for me, because it was very odd to not be there. I just reached out and had a conversation, and it was very helpful.”
Another transition awaits Wilson, who expects to submit his dissertation at the end of August and defend it in September. He is applying for engineering modeling jobs, casting a wide net in terms of industry and location.
“I’m still trying to figure out what’s next,” he said. “I don’t know where I will land. I’m excited by the prospects.”