Brianna Throssell retirement: Olympic gold medalist lifts lid on 'disheartening' retirement reality 'no one talks about'

Brianna Throssell is a three-time Olympian with two gold medals and a business degree to her name. But after deciding to retire from professional swimming, the 29-year-old could not land a job anywhere.

A relay stalwart of the Australian swim team for the last decade, Throssell's career in the pool tallied 39 international medals, including four Olympic medals.

While working tirelessly to meet the immediate demands of her sport, Throssell was also preparing for the future by studying a bachelor of business with a major in management at Swinburne University — or so she thought.

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Former teammates Emma McKeon and Brianna Throssell pose with their medals during the medal ceremony for the women's 100m butterfly final at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. Dean Mouhtaropoulos via Getty Images

"I always tried to prepare myself the best I could for life after sport," Throssell tells Wide World of Sports.

"I knew that swimming was never going to be forever — I wasn't going to be still training to go to the Olympics when I'm 50 years old. I knew that there was always going to be an end date.

"I never wanted to retire and be like, 'I've got no degree, I've got no work experience; what do I do now?'.

"So I chipped away at my business degree on the side, part-time. My one goal was to have my studies finished by the time I finished swimming, and I did that."

Following her final race at Paris 2024 — her golden swim in the women's 4x200m freestyle relay final — Throssell revealed she would not complete another Olympic cycle to take her to Los Angeles 2028.

Then, after taking an extended break from the pool, the West Australian product officially announced her retirement from swimming in March. Her decision put a full stop after 12 years on the Australian swimming team.

Gold medallists in the women's 4x200m freestyle relay final Lani Pallister, Brianna Throssell, Ariarne Titmus and Mollie O'Callaghan. Getty

But establishing herself outside of the pool was no easy feat.

Throssell reached out to connections in media and the business world but was told that no one was hiring.

She then got online and applied for more than 40 jobs, to which she heard back from only two businesses to set up interviews.

Having never completed an internship or gained industry experience, Throssell's attempt to enter the workforce hit a roadblock.

"I could not get a job anywhere," she says.

"Everyone required experience, and unfortunately, my experience was very left of centre.

Brianna Throssell competes at the Australian Swimming Trials in 2024. Chris Hyde via Getty Images

"It was a really interesting period in my life. I certainly had days were I thought, 'Wow, why did I even study? It's clearly of no benefit to me or anyone else'."

Throssell also acknowledged that because of the intensity of elite sports, not every athlete has the time or the resources to pursue higher education. This can make the job market even harder to break into.

"I have all of these transferrable skills that I would love to showcase in a workplace, but no one would give me a look in because I didn't match the exact requirements that needed to be picked up by an AI resume reader," she says.

"It was quite a disheartening period and I got quite down about everything that was happening.

"As athletes, we're told throughout our careers, 'Athletes are so highly employable. They're a fantastic addition to the workplace'. And that's what I based my thoughts on. I thought I would get a job quite easily when I finished and that was so far from the case."

Having been met with nothing but silence, Throssell started to fear for her future.

She was not alone in her struggle.

According to research conducted by Professional Footballers Australia (PFA) and published in 2021, only 30 per cent of players gained employment immediately following the end of their career. Another 31 per cent of players said it took them over 12 months to find employment that they were satisfied with.

The report also highlighted inconsistencies in the level of support received pre- and post-retirement, with 41 per cent rating post-transition support as very low compared to 45 per cent scoring very high or somewhat high during their sporting career.

The report, titled "The PFA Post Issue 4: Retired and Transitioned Players", surveyed 90 former Australian football players who had retired between 1990 and 2019.

"There is such a lack of support out there for athletes who are transitioning out of sport," Throssell says.

"We have the most incredible resources while we're competing but once we finish and announce our retirement, we're no one's obligation anymore.

"No one talks about how hard it is to find what you next want to step into.

Ariarne Titmus and Brianna Throssell celebrate after winning gold in the women's 4x200m freestyle relay final at Paris 2024. Getty

"Athletes retire from every sport all the time, and I can't speak to other people's experiences, but I'm so fortunate to have been presented with an opportunity."

Everything changed when Throssell sought the counsel of Swimming Australia's athlete wellbeing coordinator, who alerted her to Deloitte Australia's Ignite Athlete Employment Program.

The Ignite program offers eligible athletes the opportunity to build a professional career with the leading professional services firm.

The company provides flexible, permanent roles that allow athletes to gain experience and develop career-specific skills, to build a strong foundation for the future beyond sport or while continuing to pursue their elite sporting goals.

Throssell applied for the first intake that afternoon and received a call the next day to say she had progressed to the next stage of interviews.

She has since joined Deloitte's Mergers and Acquisitions team in Melbourne.

Similarly, to combat the difficulty female athletes have finding work once their playing career ends, top-flight Italian women's club Como pledged that it would only accept sponsorship from businesses that commit to hiring their players once they retire.

Asked if partnerships are the answer to assisting athletes post-retirement, Throssell conceded that networking plays a huge part.

"Yes and no. A lot comes down to industry experience," she says.

"It's not about coming on board and providing financial support once an athlete finishes their career, I think it's more about coming on board as a sponsor for experience.

"At the end of the day, from my experience, companies and businesses employ people who have work experience. If you don't have that, they're not interested.

"So, companies and businesses coming on board as partners or sponsors to give experience is a massive initiative because that's what athletes need most for life after sport."

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