Swimming champion James Magnussen reveals why he hasn’t ‘lost his identity’ after retiring from the pool – as he breaks his silence on Shayna Jack drug controversy
- World champ and Olympian James Magnussen retired from swimming this year
- The 27-year-old said he maintained life outside swimming so transitioned easily
- He hopes to go to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics but this time as a commentator
World champion freestyle swimmer and Olympian James Magnussen has opened up about life after retiring from the pool – revealing why he’s never ‘lost his identity’.
The 27-year-old has been keeping busy by starting his own company called The Swim Squad and being named as ambassador for Royal Surf Lifesaving Australia’s summer campaign.
‘I guess I was one of the swimmers who, while I loved swimming, I wasn’t really a swimming nerd,’ Magnussen told The Sunday Telegraph.
World champion freestyle swimmer and Olympian James Magnussen (pictured with girlfriend Rose McEvoy) has opened up about life after retiring from the pool
Magnussen commented on the controversy surrounding swimmer Shayna Jack (pictured) being booted form the World Swimming Championships in Korea in July
The 27-year-old has been keeping busy by starting his own company called The Swim Squad and being named as ambassador for Royal Surf Lifesaving Australia’s summer campaign
Magnussen says he always had a lot of interests outside of swimming and felt at ease with transitioning to life after retiring from the sport.
‘Most of my friends didn’t even see me as a swimmer… I was able to maintain a pretty normal lifestyle away from the pool. I didn’t feel like I lost my identity when I stopped competing,’ he said.
He also said the support of his girlfriend, lawyer Rose McEvoy, has been instrumental in helping him adjust to life outside competitive sport.
Magnussen retired in June this year – a month before Swimming Australia was rocked by the positive drug test of Shayna Jack.
The then 20-year-old Jack was unceremoniously sent home from the world championships in Korea in July.
Magnussen says he always had a lot of interests outside of swimming and felt at ease with transitioning to life after retiring from the sport
Both Swimming Australia and Jack kept quiet over the incident until it was revealed in the media she had tested positive to the banned substance Ligandrol.
Magnussen said the whole incident was not handled well – comparing it to Broncos rugby league player James Segyaro testing positive to the same substance a few months after Jack.
He said that story ‘spent a day in the media and then the Broncos admin just shut that down. It doesn’t surprise me with swimming. It’s disappointing.’
These days Magnussen is focused on his business The Swim Squad, which operates swimming clinics in Sydney and the New South Wales coast.
He hopes to expand the business to Victoria next year.
As for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics he still hopes to be there – this time as a commentator.
These days Magnussen is focused on his business The Swim Squad, which operates swimming clinics in Sydney and the New South Wales coast