Olympic legend Giann Rooney has made a shocking admission about his life since leaving competitive swimming.
Rooney, who won gold and set a world record as part of Australia’s 4x100m medley team at the 2004 Athens Olympics, told Sydney radio station Nova 96.9 on Wednesday that since retiring he has remained firmly on solid ground.
He is currently in Paris for the Games as part of Channel Nine’s poolside commentary team.
“I haven’t swum a length since the day I retired 18 years ago,” Rooney told interviewer Kate Ritchie.
“I have no desire to jump back into the pool.”
He also reminded Ritchie and fellow hosts Ryan Fitzgerald and Michael Wipfli that Wednesday marked 20 years since her Olympic triumph, where she teamed with Petria Thomas, Jodie Henry and Leisel Jones in the relay.
She described the victory as “a very distant memory.”
Rooney said he still took great pleasure from being poolside during international competition and enjoyed reliving the feelings and memories of his stellar career.
Giaan Rooney (pictured, centre right, with his gold medal from the 2004 Athens Olympics) says he hasn’t “swum a lap” since his retirement
“I feel a lot more nervous and excited for our athletes who are swimming now,” she said.
‘I feel almost like a proud mother standing on the sidelines watching them all complete the race.
“I get goosebumps and hairs on end every time I hear the national anthem. It takes me back to those moments.”
“Every time I hear our national anthem, the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I sing loudly, with pride, because it takes me back to those moments.”
Since retiring, Rooney, 41, has kept busy raising two children on a Queensland farm with her husband of 12 years, Sam Levett.
Rooney said the atmosphere at the Paris Olympic pool was “absolutely crazy” with the 17,000-strong crowd “going into hysterics” every time a French athlete appeared.
Asked if it was a “slow pool” due to the lack of world records in the competition so far, Rooney said he didn’t think it was.
Even though he no longer swims even for recreation, Rooney said he still gets excited about being around international competition.
“It’s the enormity and pressure of the Olympics, so suddenly athletes aren’t swimming for a while – we haven’t seen world records broken here,” he said, adding that swimmers were simply doing what was necessary to beat those next to them.
He explained that a “rapid pool” is one where the water is shallow and warm, as opposed to a “cold pool,” which is deep and cold.
However, he said all major international competition pools had to have a standard depth and temperature to maintain consistency.
Rooney also confirmed another key point for the Paris Games: all medals awarded in 2024 will contain metal from the recently remodeled Eiffel Tower.
