Here's What Usain Bolt, Michael Phelps, Shawn Johnson, And 16 Other Retired Olympians Are Up To In 2024
Athletes put their heart into their sport when they compete in the Olympics. After all, it's the only sporting event in the world where most countries compete against each other.
For some athletes, their careers are defined by their accomplishments at the games. But what happens once they walk away?
I did a deep dive, looking at the lives of 19 retired Olympians to see what they're up to after retirement.
23x gold medalist Michael Phelps remains the most decorated athlete in Olympic history. Since stepping away from the Olympics, he's become an advocate for mental health and opened the Michael Phelps Swim School while also focusing on his family.
With two gold medals, Michael Jordan is still a name that's synonymous with basketball excellence. After retiring from the game of basketball, he's continued to establish himself as an exceptional entrepreneur through the Jordan brand.
3.Carl Lewis
4.Larisa Latynina
Larisa Latynina has 18 medals, including nine Gold, five Silver, and four Bronze in gymnastics. She went on to coach the Soviet gymnastics team and developed the sport significantly afterward. Her impact in the Olympics continued well after her time competing, having helped the Soviet women's team win gold in three consecutive Olympic games (1968, 1972, and 1976). She also had a hand in organizing the gymnastics competition in Moscow in 1980.
5.Oscar De La Hoya
Oscar De La Hoya remains a fixture in the boxing world. His career thrived after the 1992 Olympics where he took home the Gold. However, he eventually retired from boxing in 2008 and pursued entrepreneurial ventures, including a clothing line and a co-ownership stake in the Houston Dynamo soccer team, per the Olympics.
6.Shaun White
Three-time gold medalist Shaun White announced his retirement from snowboarding in 2022. Though he's maintained a presence at the 2024 Olympic Games, White has focused on expanding his snowboard and lifestyle brand, WHITESPACE, and partnered with Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment to invest to purchase the brand We Are Camp for $10 million, per Sports Business Journal.
7.Usain Bolt
Usain Bolt retired from the Olympics and had a fruitful career, including a brief stint in music and soccer, while also expanding his business efforts like his restaurant franchise, Tracks & Records.
8.Nadia Comăneci
Nadia Comăneci, known for her perfect 10 in Olympic gymnastics, continued to make her presence felt at the games. According to The Sun, she became the honorary president of both the Romanian Olympic Committee and the Romanian Gymnastics Federation. She's also part of the International Gymnastics Federation Foundation. Alongside her husband, Bart Conner, she co-founded a gymnastic school called Bart Conner Gymnastics Academy, where she nurtures the talents of young gymnasts.
9.Mark Spitz
Nine-time Olympic medalist Mark Spitz retired from the Olympics after the 1972 games and embarked on quite a lucrative journey outside of sports. He became a keynote speaker, delved into television and film briefly, and reportedly made up to $7 million within 2 years at one point.
10.Jackie Joyner-Kersee
Jackie Joyner-Kersee deserves applause for using her impact in the Olympics to advocate for change. She is a six-time Olympic medalist (with three golds). In 1988, she launched the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Foundation, an organization dedicated to helping at-risk youth in East St. Louis, Illinois.
11.Mary Lou Retton
After retiring, Mary Lou Retton leveraged her Olympic success in gymnastics into numerous endorsement and sponsorship deals, including a Wheaties box cover. However, her decision to leave sports behind was driven by her pursuit of higher learning. Mary Lou Retton eventually enrolled at the University of Texas. She also appeared in TV and films such as Baywatch and Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult. She hosted an unscripted show titled Mary Lou’s Flip Flop Shop, and then appeared in the 27th season of Dancing With The Stars, per NBC.
12.Shawn Johnson East
Shawn Johnson East is a retired gymnast. After competing in the Beijing Olympics in 2008, she married NFL star Andrew East and is a dedicated mother to her three children. She and her husband also have a YouTube channel that provides fans insight into their lives, per ABC.
13.Dorothy Hamill
A pioneer in figure skating, Dorothy Hamill made a mark in pop culture after winning gold in the 1976 Olympics. She appeared on shows like Chopped and extended her success to the next generation of figure skaters, namely Rachell Flatt, whom Hamill mentored. She's also a breast cancer survivor and used her platform to raise awareness.
14.Lance Armstrong
Lance Armstrong has been widely considered a GOAT in the sport of cycling, but his legacy has come into question following a doping scandal. He was subsequently stripped of his titles and ordered to pay $5M to the U.S. Government after a civil lawsuit. In 2012, he also resigned from his position as chairman and his seat on the board of directors of the Livestrong Foundation, which aims to support people who have been impacted by cancer.
15.Jenny Thompson
With 12 medals, including eight gold medals, Jenny Thompson officially retired from swimming after the 2004 Athens Games. She went on to pursue a career in medicine. She earned a degree in medicine at Columbia University's College Of Physicians and Surgeons and then completed her residency at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. These days, she's an anesthesiologist at the Maine Medical Center in Portland, per the Olympics.
16.Sawao Kato
Sawao Kato of Japan took home 12 medals across three Olympic games and retired in 1977. After putting gymnastics behind him at 29, he became a professor at his alma mater, Tsukuba University. He also served as the Vice President of the Technical Commission of the International Gymnastics Federation until 1998. In 2001, he was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall Of Fame.
17.Mia Hamm
Mia Hamm, a two-time Olympic gold medalist for Team USA's women's soccer team, has continued to advocate for the participation of young women in the sport. She has expanded the Mia Hamm Foundation, which raises awareness, support, and funds for those who require bone marrow or cord blood transplants.
18.Janet Evans
Janet Evans is a five-time medalist in swimming for Team USA. She might not be actively competing but she's not too far from the Olympics these days, especially as the chief athlete officer of the Los Angeles organizing committee for the 2028 Games in the City of Angels.
19.Ian Thorpe
Ian Thorpe holds several world records and boasts five gold medals. But after leaving the Olympics, Thorpedo has remained a vocal advocate for athletes' rights and mental health. His efforts earned him two honorary doctorates: the Order of Australia and the Human Rights Medal, which acknowledges "his advocacy in Indigenous education, marriage equality, and mental health."
