Double Commonwealth Games gold medallist and three-time Olympian Grace Reid has announced her retirement from elite diving, bringing the curtain down on a spectacular career that saw her win multiple major medals on the world, European and Commonwealth stage.
The youngest athlete on Team Scotland in 2010 at just 14, Grace came of age within Team Scotland, stepping up at Glasgow 2014 to finish fifth in the 1m Springboard, before a brilliant display in Gold Coast to win Scotland’s first ever medal for women’s diving at a Commonwealth Games, and the first Scottish diving gold for 60 years as she triumphed in the 1m Springboard.
She added a second gold four years later at Birmingham 2022, partnering James Heatly to be crowned the first ever Commonwealth Games champions in Mixed 3m Synchro.
Reid made her Olympic debut for Team GB at the Rio 2016 Games just months after her first European medals – an individual 3m bronze and a gold alongside Tom Daley in the Mixed 3m Synchro event.
She cemented her place on Great Britain teams for three successive Olympic Games – Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 – in the Women’s 3m individual event, while also stepping onto boards with Kat Torrance for the synchro competition in Japan.
A second European title in 2018 saw Reid hold her nerve in front of a home crowd in Edinburgh to claim Women’s 3m gold as part of the Glasgow 2018 championships, while World Championship Mixed 3m Synchro medals in 2017 and 2022, followed by a first individual global medal at Doha 2024, mark out just a handful of the medals secured across a glittering career.
Twenty-five years on from the beginning her diving journey, Grace Reid has left an indelible mark on the sport as she now steps away from elite competition to explore new opportunities.
“I think the biggest thing for me is a feeling that I’m leaving on my own terms and feeling like I’ve done everything I wanted to do in the sport,” said Grace on confirming her retirement.
“I think after Paris a lot of people might have expected me to retire, but the biggest thing for me was loving my sport and [getting to a point of] feeling that I’d left no stone unturned – I achieved that this year on so many levels.
“Making another world championship team [this summer], I just loved every second of it, but when I did my last dive in Singapore I knew that something was different. Everyone always said to me, ‘well, you’ll know when you know’ and that couldn’t be more true. I just, I know in my heart that it’s time for a new adventure and a new chapter.”
Reflecting back upon the highlights of her career and the support around her across the years, Grace added:
“There’re different points in my career that I’m so proud of and that I look back on really fondly – it’s hard to narrow down! I think I’ve got so much to be proud of that there’s not one thing that I’m holding on a pedestal, that’s for sure.
“Obviously making my first Olympic games, I think will always be a standout because it was something I dreamed about as a little girl and to be able to qualify for one, let alone three, it was just a huge milestone. Then I think probably winning gold at Europeans in front of a home crowd in Edinburgh, that’s a memory I will hold on to for the rest of my days – to see my friends and family in the crowd as I had that moment and just knowing how I stepped up under pressure.
“My biggest supporters have definitely been my mum and dad, they have just been so unwavering in their support through good through bad. And, you know, I’ve been so lucky to have some incredible coaches that have guided me, in and out of the pool, and all the support staff; psychology, nutrition and just the physios that have held me together physically, as well as mentally. I can’t thank everyone enough for every opportunity that they’ve given me to excel as much as I did.”
Looking back on Grace’s hugely successful career, Jon Doig OBE, CEO at Commonwealth Games Scotland, said: “Grace has made an outstanding contribution to Team Scotland both in and out of the water since her debut as a 14-year-old in Delhi 15 years ago. I remember at that time she was asked what she liked about diving and she said it was the closest thing to flying – she’s certainly flown to achievements she may not have even considered possible at the start of her career.
“We wish Grace the very best in the next chapter of her life. She is an inspiration, not only for what she has achieved, but how she has done it and is a fantastic ambassador for her family, her sport and for Scotland.”
Being passionate about giving back, Grace has often set time aside to support sessions for the next generation in her training bases of London and Edinburgh across the years. Posed with the concept she could rewind time to give some words of advice to her own younger self about the journey ahead she said:
“It’s a good question. I think it’d say to her that it’s a really long road and it’s a really hard one, but so is everything that’s worth having and don’t be afraid of that. With hard work, dedication and with the right people around you, there is nothing that you can’t achieve. I think that’s what I’d say to her.”