Leonie Beck has retired from open water swimming after a career in which she won world and European titles.
The German competed at three Olympics across pool and marathon swimming with fifth in the open water at the Tokyo Olympics the closest she came to the podium.
The 29-year-old posted her announcement on social media, saying: “Swimming may no longer be my profession, but water and sport will always be part of who I am. And the next chapter has already begun. 🤍
“Thank you for everything. And stay tuned. Leonie❤️”
Beck took a break from the water after Paris 2024 where she finished ninth in the River Seine eight weeks after winning 5/10k gold at the European Championships in Belgrade, Serbia.
She told Blickpunkt Sport – a TV show on Bayerischer Rundfunk – “I’m doing so well, I’m having so much fun doing what I’m doing now. I went to a thousand events and also got into the media. And that’s why I’ve now decided that I want to continue in this direction and not return to competitive sport.”
Beck enjoyed skiing as a youngster but it was in the water that she thrived and especially in distance swimming.
She won was crowned German champion in the 1500 free aged 14 in 2012 and later that year won gold at the 2012 European Junior Championships in Antwerp, Belgium. After retaining her national 1500 title the following year, Beck claimed gold in the 400 and 800 at the 2013 European juniors where she also won silver as part of the German girls’ 4×200 team.
She made her worlds debut that same year in Barcelona where she finished 12th. Come 2014 and her European debut in Berlin where Beck finished 12th in the 1500 and 15th in the 800.
At the Kazan worlds in 2015, Beck narrowly missed out on reaching the finals of the 800 and 1500, finishing ninth in the prelims of both events where Katie Ledecky would go on to set world records in each race.
Beck qualified for her maiden Olympics at Rio 2016 where she came 25th in the 800 as Germany teammate Sarah Köhler – now Wellbrock – finished seventh.
Switch To Open Water Pays Dividends
It was after Rio 2016, that Beck decided to turn her attention to open water, citing double Olympic medallist and fellow German Thomas Lurz as an inspiration.
“Like everywhere else, the beginning wasn’t easy, but with experience and time I started to get better and better results,” she told European Aquatics. “What I like most about open water swimming is that we are like a big family. We know and respect each other and, most importantly, we have fun together.”
The switch paid dividends and two years later, she paid her first trip to the international podium with double silver in the 5k and team event at the 2018 Europeans in Glasgow.
Photo Courtesy: Giorgio Scala / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto
Bronze in the 5k at the 2019 worlds in Gwangju, South Korea, was followed by team silver at the 2020 edition of the Europeans in Budapest, delayed until May 2021 because of the Covid pandemic.
She travelled to her second Olympics in Tokyo where she finished two places off the podium, 4.3secs off winner Ana Cunha and 2.6secs off Kareena Lee in third.
It heralded a highly-decorated period of her career. Team gold and 10k silver behind Sharon van Rouwendaal at the 2022 Budapest worlds was followed weeks later with the European 10k title in Rome.
She won the 5/10k double at the 2023 worlds in Fukuoka, a feat she replicated at the Belgrade Europeans a year later before she travelled to Paris for her third Olympics.
There she finished ninth as Van Rouwendaal claimed her second title and third medal.
There’d long been concerns about the water quality in the river with Beck later posting on social media that she’d had sickness and diarrhea following the race.
It proved to be her swansong. She took an extended break following Paris during which she worked for both European Aquatics and World Aquatics and discovered interests beyond the water.
“My studies and the decision to pursue a dual career gave me the opportunity to discover interests beyond swimming and prepare for what would come next,” she said. “I think we should talk about this much more often in sport. Athletes are always more than their results – and preparing for life after your active career doesn’t mean you’re less committed to the sport you love.”