World Champion Rebecca Gallantree has announced her retirement from diving after competing at every level of competition in the sport.
Gallantree made her senior debut in 2004 and continued her development making a name for herself in the international competition circuit.
She competed at her first Olympics in 2008 after beating tough competition for the individual 3m Springboard place. She went on to compete at both the London and Rio Games.
In 2009 she was partnered with Alicia Blagg in the 3m Synchro and the two of them achieved the result they’d dreamt of by winning gold at the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
Just a year later Gallantree was back at the top of the podium and this time at the World Championships as she was crowned Champion alongside Tom Daley in the Team Event.
On her retirement she said: “Diving has been a huge part of my life and has given me so many unforgettable opportunities and experiences. It’s allowed me to travel the world, to meet and work with countless amazing and inspirational people, and to work every day on being the best I can be.
“I have achieved more in my career than I ever thought possible. Representing Team GB at three Olympic Games, winning a Commonwealth gold medal with Alicia, and a World Championship gold medal with Tom, were all things that I would never have imagined ten years ago.
“Competing in front of a home crowd at London 2012, in particular, will always be one of my fondest memories. I hope that my diving career has helped show what can be achieved with passion, determination, and hard work.”
Gallantree has loved the sport of diving throughout her career and wants to give back in the future.
“I have loved being part of such an incredibly successful team over the past 13 years, but I know that now is the right time for me to move on to other things. I hope that I will be able to stay involved in diving in some capacity, whether through coaching, mentoring, or just being a fan! But the next big thing for me is to spend a few months travelling so I can see a little bit of the world away from diving pools.
“I want to say a huge thank you to my coaches Edwin Jongejans and Ady Hinchliffe, who have been such a huge part of my career in Leeds for the past 15 years, and also my first coach, Carol Rushen, who helped me to fall in love with the sport as a young diver. And finally, a massive thank you to everyone who has supported me throughout my diving career – I wouldn’t have been able to do it without you!”
National Performance Director Alexei Evangulov paid tribute to Gallantree and her hard work and dedication.
“Rebecca has been a great ambassador for diving throughout her career,” Evangulov said. “She has shown great skill in training and competition and I was really proud to see her win gold in Glasgow and Kazan.
“She has had a great career and I want to congratulate her on her successes and from myself and everyone at British Diving we wish her well for the future.”
News courtesy of British Swimming.