Dutch Olympic gold medalist Inge Dekker announced her retirement from swimming in a Facebook post Monday.
Dekker swam at four Olympic Games and won three medals, all coming as part of the Dutch 400 free relay team. Individually, the highlight of her career was winning the 2011 World title in the 50 fly.
But her journey to the Rio Games was rocky as Dekker announced in February that she was battling cervical cancer.
“It is obviously very scary when you hear this news,” Dekker said at the time. “For three years, I’ve been preoccupied with getting ready for the Rio Olympics, and then I heard this. Suddenly, my life became very quiet and I could see that everything was relative. I took a few days to get used to the news, but now I am looking with confidence towards the future. I am focusing on being positive and giving my all to recover well. I can only focus on the things I can influence, but I have certainly not put the Rio Olympics out of my head.”
She had successful surgery in March and was indeed able to compete in Rio just five months after her surgery. Dekker swam on the Dutch 400 free relay that went on to finish fourth and also made the semifinals of the 50 free.
Dekker wrote in her Facebook post that she considers competing in Rio despite all the odds the biggest accomplishment of her career. She also thanked longtime coach Martin Truijens for helping keep her focused and having fun over the past 15 years, and she also apologized for all the events that she had to miss in her personal life to dedicate herself to training and competition.
Dekker won her first Olympic medal as an 18-year-old in Athens when a squad still led by Inge de Brujin picked up a bronze. Four years later, Dekker teamed with Ranomi Kromowidjojo, Femke Heemskerk and Marleen Veldhuis to win gold.
That foursome twice also set two world records in the relay, won two World titles and returned to the Olympics to pick up a silver medal in 2012.