Fletcher & Burch Retiring From Competition
Bermudian Olympians Julian Fletcher and Roy-Allan Burch have announced their retirement from competitive swimming.
Fletcher had a very strong 10-year swimming career which was capped off with an Olympic selection and 11 National Records in his last 12 months of competition. He was able to swim for 4 years at Southern Methodist University in a Division one program and has finished his career as an Olympian.
Bermuda National Coach Ben Smith said, “We are proud of Fletcher’s accomplishments and would like to wish him well in his future endeavors.
Burch is a two-time Olympic athlete, who has numerous accomplishments over his career.
Smith went on to say, “As the poster person from FINIS swim products, Burch also was an example to swimmers throughout our region. As he continues to give motivational talks in the US and moves on to his post swimming Career we wish him well and want him to know that we are all proud of what he has accomplished.”
Fletcher in a statement said, “I believe my successful career in swimming has come to an end. I am satisfied with the results from this year, earning 11 National records in 12 months is a great accomplishment. Swimming has always been a major part of my life, but now I believe that it’s my time to move on and focus on a professional career out of the pool.
“I will continue to give back to the sport, and help our younger swimmers achieve their dreams of earning a Carifta medal, swimming in an NCAA D1 school and representing Bermuda at the highest level. I’m glad that I made that 4 year plan towards reaching an Olympic final, because it can now be used as a reference for athletes in the future.
“I would have not been able to achieve my Olympic dream without Ben Smith, Richard Goodwin and our senior athletes that set a precedent for Bermuda swimming. Also, it’s important to credit the effort from the parents who volunteered time to help the athletes succeed.
“I hope to be involved with coaching and developing our high performance athletes, and using my wealth of knowledge from a 10 year career in competitive swimming to improve our results on an international stage.”
Burch states, “After much deliberation, I have decided that my swimming career has come to an end. It has been difficult to find the motivation to continue. With the changes in my personal life and major changes in my program, it has created more difficult circumstances to perform at the level I expect of myself.
“Being I can now longer give my highest efforts to my training and racing, I feel that it is appropriate for me to retire from a swimming career that has made me so proud, but has also created a lot of pain.”
“It has been a wonderful experience competing for Bermuda, over the years I have learned many valuable lessons that I will take through the rest of my life. I could go on and on, but truly I would like to simply extend my gratitude to those who have helped make this dream a reality.”
