Stanford University senior and All-American breaststroker Zoe Bartel announced that she’s stepping away from competitive swimming on Monday.
Bartel, who was in action this past weekend at the NC State Invitational in Greensboro, made an announcement on Instagram and also shared her reasons for stepping away with SwimSwam.
View this post on Instagram
Bartel made it clear that her decision is simply because she doesn’t have the desire to continue competing, and has nothing to do with Stanford swimming & diving or her performances since joining the Cardinal in the fall of 2018.
“I decided to end my swimming career early this fall,” Bartel said. “For better or worse, people like to take headlines and run with them, so I wrote this short piece to explain my decision and (hopefully) dispel some of the Stanford slander that will almost inevitably follow.
“Let me be very clear: my choice has nothing to do with Stanford swimming or my performances since coming to school.
“This is a personal matter, and I’ve been incredibly blessed with the support of my family, coaches and teammates throughout my 15 years of competitive swimming.
“That being said, my decision was not easy by any means. My life and most of my relationships have been woven in the context of swimming. Stepping away feels like abandoning the family that raised me and loved me even when I was at my worst.”
The 21-year-old says she’s always enjoyed the relationships she made through swimming rather than the sport itself, and has found outside interests recently that propel her to move on from racing.
“When it comes down to it, swimming is not something I truly love. Those of you who know my story a little better know that has always been true. What I’ve loved about this sport are the people I’ve gotten to grow with, and the purpose it has given me when I didn’t feel like I had one. I’ve struggled with my mental health for a long time, and swimming has consistently complicated these struggles. I used the daily grind of swimming to exhaust my demons rather than have to deal with them head-on. This sport simultaneously saved me from myself and clouded my understanding of who I am and how to be that person.
“This fall I’ve been happier than I’ve been in a long time. I discovered academic interests and passions that make me excited for life past graduation, and I’m finally ready to give myself a purpose. Fortunately, Stanford and the continuous support of my coaches has made it possible for me to both discover and pursue these interests.”
A native of Fort Collins, Colo., Bartel joined the Cardinal as a freshman in the 2018-19 season, helping Stanford to the 2019 NCAA team title while becoming an Honorable Mention All-American in the 200 breaststroke by finishing 11th overall.
As a sophomore she place third in both the 100 and 200 breast at the 2020 Pac-12s prior to NCAAs being canceled due to the pandemic, going on to earn All-American status in both the 100 and 200 breast. Last year, Bartel placed 31st in the 200 breast, 35th in the 100 breast and 56th in the 200 IM at the 2021 NCAAs in her junior season.
At last weekend’s NC State Invite, she finished seventh in the women’s 100 breast (1:01.38), sixth in the 200 breast (2:12.12) and 16th in the 200 IM heats before scratching the final.
Allie Raab has typically assumed breaststroke duty on Stanford’s medley relays during Bartel’s career, but with Raab racing sparsely on the weekend, Bartel raced both ‘A’ medley relays for the Cardinal and was their only scoring swimmer in the 100 breast.
Looking down the road, if Stanford has legitimate hopes of reclaiming the title, Bartel’s loss could prove costly if Raab doesn’t return to top form.
Bartel’s personal bests in her primary events—100 breast (58.72), 200 breast (2:06.24) and 200 IM (1:55.70)—were set in 2018 prior to her joining Stanford.
“This is not how I envisioned ending my time in the pool,” she said. “It’s not the fairytale ending to a perfect four years that we all dream about coming into school.
“Nonetheless, I know this is right for my wellbeing and future—as well as the future of Stanford Women’s Swim & Dive. I can’t give them the all-in commitment they deserve while also setting myself up to live a life I want, so I’ve chosen to step away.
“I can’t express my gratitude enough for (head coach) Greg (Meehan), (associate head coach) Tracy (Slusser), and my teammates for their relentless support, as well as Chris Webb and the Fort Collins community for always welcoming me with open arms no matter the circumstances.
“I honestly don’t know how I got so lucky to have been surrounded by so many incredible (and extremely patient) people. Thank you a thousand times over.”
Does anyone know what happened to Amalie Fackenthal? Did she quit?
How can someone in their early 20s ‘retire’ from anything?
I can’t tell if you’re trying to be funny or disingenuous.
I am being completely serious. Always struck me as an odd word choice.
Old white man speak
I was an elite figure skater. “Retirements” as a teenager were common – same in gymnastics. After spending 16 years training 30+ hours per week, traveling around the country and the world to compete, being in pain every day, missing social events and sacrificing almost everything outside of my training and the academic portion of my schooling – it was absolutely a retirement.
With as much talent the Stanford Women’s Swimming program gets walking in their door every year, it’s a shame that so many girls quit or never improve their high school times. The coaching situation, as a whole, in the Pac-12 is in shambles right now.
I would say Stanford’s coaching situation is in great hands. Stanford women won the last 3 NCAA championships prior to Covid putting a two year damper on the sport. If that is your definition of shambles, I think every other program in the country would take it.
Explain her fastest times in n high school then? I’m not being snarky. Did she reach her genetic maximum? Then minimally she flat lines at her peak. Or was she just an early maturer and college was downhill?
There can be a lot of reasons, covid taking the enjoyment out, outside interests, school focus, multiple small injuries. Also, one thing to keep in mind, many elite swimmers achieve great success in high school and with heavy training may reach their potential early making it hard to achieve time improvement.
Kudos. Thank you 😊
Hey good for her to decide to live her truth. It takes courage to post something like this – knowing that there will be folks out there who will be critical or who do not agree with her decision. If she doesn’t love the sport, why continue? Why “mail it in” to Stanford?
Why not do something you love instead? Her decision to step away will likely be good for her mental health – which I applaud.
So many words, so many deep thoughts, so many good wishes from the people who wouldn’t even notice her retirement should it happen three months later or three months earlier.
But the main question wasn’t addressed.
Why is it now. Not a week before, not a week later. Not at the end of this season or at the end of previous one. Just in the middle of the current one in the eve of the Holiday season.
My first impression (not knowing anything about her) was that is actually a medical retirement. She hates swimming and cannot stand it anymore. So no reasonings of finishing somehow the season with the team were working for her. Her times… Read more »
She said she made the decision to walk away in early fall. My guess is she wanted one more big meet and she got that, which was the NC State meet. The other possibility is she wanted to quit at the beginning of the school year, but Greg persuaded her to push through to the mid-season meet because he knew Raab’s rehab wasn’t going well and they needed her for the meet.
So there are at least two plausible reasons to answer your why. It’s not like she woke up one day and said to herself, I hate swimming, I am going to quit. In fact, when she signed with Stanford, she did an interview with her local paper… Read more »
so commenting sections once again proves the point, loud and clear.
Zoe’s a young adult and needs neither the permission of others to make life decisions or the acceptance of strangers to affirm those decisions. Having said that I think it’s fine to say whatever you want on here true false or indifferent. It’s a comment section on a swimming website…. Greg and Tracey are some of the “good guys” out there. They never didn’t listen to input. Doesn’t mean they did everything we would have done. They run a program and 4 years of elite athletics is not for everyone. Zoe, Greg, and Tracy have long discussed this and this was the one true path. Not a fork in the road. I’d send 100 more Zoes to swim at Stanford… Read more »