Ellen Keane will be hanging up her swimcap after the Paralympics this summer.
She tells VIP Magazine that it will be a “bittersweet moment” when she gets into the water for the last time.
Appearing in the February issue of VIP, she tells us that taking the plunge is “scary”.
“It is a bittersweet moment and a little bit scary but life is long and there’s so many things to be doing. It’s so interesting to think about the capacity that we have,” she tells us.
“I’m excited to be a beginner and start again. There could be something else out there that I’m really good at so I’m excited to take the time out and discover that. As well as that, when I retire I’ll have six months of my twenties left for myself.
“I’ve never had a lot of freedom. I want to have the experiences that I never got to have so I’ve started a retirement bucket list. I want to go skiing because when you’re an athlete you can’t go on high-risk holidays incase you get injured.”
Now she reveals that she has plenty of plans after she finishes up her career.
“I want to go surfing and I want to go on a girls trip! I’ve never travelled to very obvious places. I was watching Ratatouille with my boyfriend the other night and realised I’ve never seen Paris. I’ve never done so many things that a lot of people my age have ticked off and moved on from, so I want to start.”
So why did she decide now was the time to retire?
She admits that she thought that she was planning to retire at 25 after Tokyo.
“I knew my body could still do it, I just had to figure out how to want to do it again. My team is so young and there’s so much potential. I’ve seen so many athletes get injured, have to retire and walk away from their sport. I didn’t have to do that so I feel like I’m in a privileged position. But five games and representing the country for five cycles is enough.”
Pick up the February issue of VIP Magazine to read our full interview with Ellen
