Olivia Carter made a name for herself in swimming as a flyer.
The former NCAA champion from Michigan will now begin her journey toward being a different kind flyer.
Carter announced her retirement from swimming as she begins moving toward her dream of being a pilot.
“I have officially retired from swimming. I made the decision over the summer. I was able to completely detach myself from swimming and my identity as a swimmer. I was able to get out of the country and find myself,” Carter told Swimming World in an exclusive interview. “I have reflected on what I have achieved and what more I wanted to achieve. I knew I was not going to take a fifth year. I am graduating in December. I knew I would have to go pro to continue, but I really just decided I didn’t want to move. I have been able to do things that I am very passionate outside the pool with planes and cars and racing.
“I have a lot of passions outside the pool and getting to revisit those this summer has shown me that it is time for me to move on.”
Carter was in Greece for a month this summer, spending time in the field working on her archaeology degree.
“I got to do some archaeological work in Greece for a month. It was a month out of swimming, but I was so glad I did it. I feel like I can have an archaeology degree now since I really went out and did some field work,” Olivia Carter said. “We were in Olynthos in northern Greece and Pella. We were working with digitizing some artifacts and organizing them. We took a lot of time to look at them and analyze them in a different light.”
Olivia Carter. Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick
That time away from the water allowed her to analyze her swimming career in a different light, too.
With graduation coming up in December, she had to figure out if she wanted to stay at Michigan and use her fifth year, or move somewhere else to take a fifth year. In the end, Carter decided to focus on new goals.
“I have always wanted to be an airline pilot. I have been around aviation for most of my life. I have been to a lot of races and got to race my own car this summer. I have a lot of other passions,” Carter said. “It was not an easy decision. This is the biggest decision I have made in my entire life. There were a lot of tears and talking with my parents.
“If I wasn’t going to put my whole heart into it, it wasn’t worth it to me. I am at a really good place.”
Carter put together a fantastic career in the water. As a junior, she was the NCAA champion in the 200-yard butterfly, pulling off the butterfly sweep with teammate Maggie MacNeil, who won the 100 butterfly. It is a sweep only one other pair of teammates has accomplished in NCAA history.
Last year as a senior, she was NCAA runnerup in the 200 butterfly, finishing her college career as a 16-time All-American and six-time Big Ten champion.
During her career, she competed for Team USA in the Junior Pan Pacific Games and the World University Games, earning international medals in both meets.
“The title is really up there. It is hard to rank them. My international experiences at Junior Pan Pacs in Fiji and WUGs in Italy were pretty amazing. To be able to represent your country and medal was pretty amazing. That was really unique with swimmers from all over and share that connection with swimming,” Carter said.
Maggie MacNeil and Olivia Carter. Photo Courtesy: Maggie Mac Neil
Carter’s experience at Michigan was full of connections, too.
“Being with Michigan and being on a team like that was also very memorable. I am really thankful for Michigan and the coaches and teammates I have had. When I came in January, 2020, a lot of stuff was going to happen that we didn’t know. Coming from being a transfer to having to put on five layers outside, they made me feel a part of the team right from the get to. It is something I will remember the rest of my life,” Olivia Carter said. “When I got to run out and hug Maggie after she won the 100 fly, that was one of the most special moments.”
Carter and MacNeil dubbed Michigan “Butterfly U” after the sweep, a race she won in her home pool in Greensboro, North Carolina.
“I remember splashing the water really hard. I remember touching the wall and not much else about the race,” she said. “I felt that rush of adrenaline that I did it. I had that on my list of goals. To be able to say to myself that I did it at my home pool was incredible. It was picture perfect. That was one of the most memorable meets ever.”
So was what turned out to be her final race.
“The last race that I swam, unbeknownst to me, was at my home pool in Greensboro and International Team Trials. That is really cool and makes it easier to be OK being done,” she said.
Carter hasn’t left the pool deck fully. She is an assistant coach at Saline High School just outside of Ann Arbor.
“I am coaching at Saline as an assistant. I am able to give back to the swimmers. Viewing the sport in a different way will be memorable,” she said.
Now it is off to other fly memories.
“What I am really looking forward to is starting flight school in February, and I most likely will be employed as a pilot by the end of next year,” Carter said. “That has been my dream for so long. To be able to get into the aviation industry is really important right now because there is a huge shortage. I am really excited to start that chapter of my life.”
Photo Courtesy: Mike Comer/NCAA Photos via Getty Images
Olivia Carter. Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick
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