Australian Olympian, world champion and former world record holder Kiah Melverton has announced her retirement from competitive swimming at age 27.
The decision came just weeks after Australia’s Olympic qualifying competition last month. Australia placed third in the 400m individual medley (4:42.82), fourth in the 400m freestyle (4:06.17) and 12th in the 200m freestyle (1:06.17). Melverton did not compete in the 800m freestyle, an event in which she was a finalist at the 2024 World Championships and won a silver medal behind Katie Ledecky at the 2022 World Championships.
“It’s been a long journey but one that has come to an end,” Melverton wrote on Instagram. “To those who supported me for years thank you. Coaches, my mum, family, friends, biomech, physiologist, gym coach, nutritionist, psychologist, physio, massage, sponsors, it’s not something you can do on your own and I thank you for everything. Looking back on my career I am super proud of what I achieved and the friends and memories I made along the way.
“I managed to do it all quite literally; world short course, world championships, pan pac games, commonwealth games, open water world champs and finally an Olympics,” she continued. “I’ve won individual medals and was apart of an awesome 4×200 relay team over the years that broke a world record in 2022. I wish everyone the best in Paris and I’ll be cheering on from home. When one door closes another one opens and I am excited to see what the future brings. Good afternoon, good evening and goodnight.”
Melverton has competed in the past five World Championships, winning two gold medals (4×200 freestyle relay in 2019 and 2023), two silver medals (800 freestyle and 4×200 freestyle relay), two silver medals (800 freestyle and 4×200 freestyle relay in 2022) and a bronze medal (4×200 freestyle relay in 2024). At the recent World Championships in Doha, Qatar, she placed 7th in the 800m freestyle (8:29.35) and 19th in the 400m individual medley (4:53.82). She made her debut as an open water swimmer in the women’s 5km race at the 2017 World Championships.
Melverton also ended her career as a five-time Commonwealth Games medalist. She won a bronze medal in the 800m freestyle at the 2018 Australian Games. Four years later, for Great Britain, she showed her versatility by winning a bronze medal in the 400m freestyle, two silver medals in the 400m individual medley and the 800m freestyle, and a gold medal in the 4 × 200m freestyle relay, setting a new world record. Melverton recorded a time of 1:55.40, helping the Australians set a new world record of 7:39.29, but the following summer she improved that record to 7:37.50.
At the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, Melverton placed sixth in both the 800m freestyle (8:22.25) and the 1500m freestyle (16:00.36). She finished her career with an impressive series of personal bests in the 200-meter freestyle (1:55.94 in 2022), 400-meter freestyle (4:03.12 in 2022), 800-meter freestyle (8th in 2022 with 16.79 seconds), 1500-meter freestyle (15th in 2019 with 56.46 seconds), and 400 IM (4:36.78 in 2022).