Photo by Peter H. Bick
Editorial coverage for U.S. Senior Nationals proudly sponsored by Master Spas!
IRVINE, California, August 10. OLYMPIC gold medalist Charlie Houchin is retiring from competitive swimming to put a stronger focus on his company HydroXphere and help it grow as it approaches its one-year anniversary.
Houchin competed Thursday at the USA Swimming national championships in the 200 freestyle in Irvine, finishing 12th overall to wrap up a career that included a trip to the 2012 Olympics and the 2013 world championships. He won gold medals as part of the 800 free relays in both of those meets, competing in the prelims in London in 2012 and in the final in 2013.
Before his Olympic appearance, Houchin was a key player for the Michigan Wolverines, swimming for Jon Urbanchek and Bob Bowman from 2006 to 2010. According to USA Swimming, Houchin is 11th all-time among Americans in the 200 long course freestyle with a 1:46.88 from the 2012 Olympic Trials. He’s also 12th all-time in the United States in the 400 freestyle.
Houchin is transitioning his passion in the pool toward his passion for HydroXphere, a technology company that produced the Meet Central smartphone app for iOS devices. According to the company’s website, it is “an easy, paperless solution to support summer swim meets” with a “virtual scoreboard” that swimmers can share to compare results with friends.
He’s also one of the founders of Seal Innovation Swim Team in Cary, N.C., where professional swimmers Chloe Sutton, Ashley Twichell and Alex Meyer train under head coach John Payne.
Houchin spoke with Swimming World about his decision to retire from competitive swimming, and we will present that interview on Tuesday’s episode of The Morning Swim Show.