2012 U.S. Olympic Gold Medalist Lauren Perdue Retires After Battling Back, Elbow Injuries

Lauren Perdue won 16 All-America awards at the University of Virginia. (Courtesy: Tim Binning/TheSwimPictures.com)

2012 U.S. Olympic gold medalist Lauren Perdue is expected to announce her retirement from competitive swimming on Tuesday, citing injuries that have plagued her before, during, and since her 2012 Olympic run.

Perdue swam in college at Virginia and for the last year has been training with SwimMAC Carolina with the aim of qualifying for the 2016 Olympic Team. After missing the 2014 U.S. National Championships, however, she’s decided to officially retire from elite competitive swimming.

“This has been a tough decision, but despite my strong desire to compete, my body has had enough,” a letter that Perdue is expected to release later today reads.

Perdue had a spectacular arrival on the collegiate scene. As a freshman, she was named both the ACC Swimmer of the Year, ACC Swimmer of the Championship, and ACC Freshman of the Year. She’d win the first two of those awards again in 2011.

2012 was a roller-coaster season for the Charlottesville native. She missed the 2012 NCAA Championships after undergoing back surgery, but miraculously fought back and got into shape in time to earn a spot on the U.S. Olympic Team that summer.

Lauren Perdue earned her Olympic rings as a member of the 800 free relay at the 2012 Olympic Games. (Courtesy: Tim Binning/TheSwimPictures.com)

She finished 4th in the 200 meter free, and swam in the preliminary heats of the 800 free relay that would go on to win gold in finals.

Besides the back, Perdue has also battled an elbow injury, and ultimately hasn’t raced in long course since the 2012 Olympics (though she did finish out her Virginia career in March of 2013).

In all, she was a 16-time All-American, 19-time ACC Champion, and 23-time All-ACC performer.