2023 Pan Am Games Champion Brennan Gravley Retires from Swimming

By Braden Keith on SwimSwam

USA Swimming National Team member Brennan Gravley has announced his retirement from competitive swimming.

My friends and family have known this for a bit, but today I am officially retired from swimming.

I have nothing but gratitude for everything this sport has given me. I could type for days on end about all I’ve loved, and still I know I’d leave so much out. I have more friends than I could have imagined thanks to swimming. I have swam in beaches and coasts across the globe and explored cultures of stunning value and history. I have felt the true bliss of what it is like to be part of something much larger than myself, whether it be an 11-12 State relay record or an SEC championship team. Most of all, I have made what seems like a countless amount of memories that are equally priceless in their own individual moment.

I want to thank everyone that has been a part of this chapter of my life. It was, and always will be, YOU people in this incredible sport that made me so happy to be at the pool each and every day. It was always you that brought the best out of me.

To swimming, and to all of you included, I’ll always cherish you. See you around!

The 23-year-old represented the United States in open water at both the 2023 World Aquatics Championships and the 2023 Pan American Games. At the latter meet, he won a god medal by two-tenths of a second in a down-to-the-wire finish. At Worlds, he finished 17th in the 5k, almost three minutes behind the winner, and 30th in the 10k, three-and-a-half minutes behind the winner.

The US men didn’t qualify any swimmers from that event to the Olympic Games, meaning there are still available slots for Paris to be earned at the 2024 World Championships.

Gravley didn’t make the team for 2024 Worlds, though, after finishing 48th at December’s qualifying event in Funchal, making him the sixth-best American in that race. The 2024 World Championships are the last Olympic qualifying opportunity, so not being selected essentially ends his quest to qualify for the Paris Games in open water.

Gravley did finish 7th in the 1500 free at the 2021 US Olympic Trials, though, so his retirement does cede a potential pool qualification.

Gravley swam collegiately at the University of Florida, graduating in August with a Bachelor’s degree in Sport and Fitness Administration/Management. He and his younger brother Dylan, who is also on the Open Water National Team, grew up training as part of the Sandpipers program that is currently producing many of the best distance swimmers in the country.

At the University of Florida, he earned an All-America honor in the 1650 free after qualifying for the canceled NCAA Championship meet. He would qualify again for NCAAs as a sophomore after placing 5th in the SEC in the mile. He ultimately finished in 18th place at nationals to just-miss scoring. He didn’t qualify for the NCAA Championship as a junior or a senior in 2022 and 2023.

SwimSwam: 2023 Pan Am Games Champion Brennan Gravley Retires from Swimming