Olympians Roy-Allan Burch and Julian Fletcher have both announced their retirement from swimming.

Burch, a two-times Olympian, made a miraculous recovery from a career-threatening injury, having ruptured both his patella tendons while playing basketball in March last year.

The 31-year-old came within touching distance of securing a place at last summer’s Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, winning bronze in the 50-metres freestyle at the Caribbean Island Swimming Championships in Bahamas.

Although his time of 22.79sec was good enough for the Olympic B standard, it was just outside the A standard of 22.27 that he needed to be considered for the Bermuda squad.

Burch, who competed at the London Olympics in 2012 and Beijing Olympics in 2008, is presently the head coach of Lake Norman Charter School’s boys and girls varsity teams.

Ben Smith, the Bermuda swimming head coach, said the North Carolina-based athlete has helped inspire the next generation of Bermudian swimmers.

“Roy-Allan is a two-times Olympic athlete who has so many accomplishments over his amazing career,’ Smith said.

“What he was able to accomplish over the last two years by overcoming an injury that had him in a wheelchair all the way to reach the Olympic selection time was amazing.

“He has made a path for future swimmers to dream of competing at the highest level. As the poster person from Finis swim products, he also was an example to swimmers throughout our region.

“As he continues to give motivational talks in the United States and moves on to his post-swimming career, we wish him well and want him to know that we are all proud of what he has accomplished.”

Fletcher was in action last month, establishing new Bermuda records at the inaugural World Short-course Championships in Windsor, Ontario.

The 26-year-old lowered his 100 metres breaststroke record after finishing in 1:01.56, while his 50-metres split was also a national record as Fletcher lowered his time from 28.50 to 28.33.

Fletcher also broke Graham Smith’s 13-year-old national best in the 100-individual medley, lowering the record from 59.70 to 59.15.

He broke three of his own national records during a cluster of short-course events at the Fina/airweave World Cup in South Asia when he became the first Bermudian to compete at the World Cup.

Fletcher, who represented Bermuda in the 100 metres breaststroke in Rio, said he was satisfied with his swimming achievements.

“I believe my successful career in swimming has come to an end,” he said. “I’m satisfied with the results from this year, earning 11 national records in 12 months is a great accomplishment.

“Swimming has always been a major part of my life, but now I believe that it’s my time to move on and focus on a professional career out of the pool.

“I will continue to give back to the sport, and help our younger swimmers achieve their dreams of earning a Carifta medal, swimming in an NCAA D1 school and representing Bermuda at the highest level.

“I’m glad that I made that four-year plan towards reaching an Olympic final, because it can now be used as a reference for athletes in the future.”

Fletcher, who finished third in his heat in Rio, said he intends to continue being involved in local swimming.

“I hope to be involved with coaching and developing our high-performance athletes, and using my wealth of knowledge from a ten-year career in competitive swimming to improve our results on an international stage.”

Smith said Fletcher had been a model athlete. “Julian is a testament to what can be achieved if you continue to train towards your dream,” he said.

“As an age-group swimmer, he faced disappointment by not reaching qualifying times or competing at the highest level but he persevered and continued to work.

“He was able to swim for four years at Southern Methodist University in a Division One programme and has finished his career as an Olympian. We are proud of his accomplishments and would like to wish him well in his future endeavours.”