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Swimming commentator Rowdy Gaines announces 2028 LA Olympics will be his last

FaceProfileby: Thomas Goldkamp08/08/24
GainesRowdy_190605_001_RiceAnnie_USAT
Photo by Annie Rice / USA TODAY Sports

One of the biggest names in the Olympics will officially be retiring after the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games, with broadcaster Rowdy Gaines announcing he will step away from the microphone after that.

Gaines announced the news on his Instagram account in response to a picture of an Olympian gymnast sleeping with the caption: “pictured: rowdy gaines for the next 3 years, 11 months, until his country calls on him again.”

The long-time swimming announcer seemed to have a good chuckle while, of course, promoting the Olympics.

“I’m still here! Don’t forget to watch Open Water swimming starting on 8/8-8/9 with the amazing Mary Carillo on @peacock!” Gaines wrote on Instagram. “And yes, @la28games will be my last, so please continue to support swimming with Worlds, NCAA, Nationals, and so so so much more! Cause after 2028, I’m riding off into the sunset of full time grandparent!”

Rowdy Gaines has been an absolute staple of Olympics coverage in the United States for the last few decades.

He was an Olympic swimmer himself, capturing three gold medals in the 1984 Games in Los Angeles. He won gold in the 100-meter freestyle, the 4×100-meter freestyle relay and the 4×100-meter medley relay.

The former Auburn swimmer also captured a number of World Championships and Pan American titles, with five golds and three silvers in the World Championships and seven golds and a bronze in the Pan American Games.

Rowdy Gaines then joined NBC’s Olympics coverage in 1996 for the Atlanta Games. He’s been on the broadcast ever since, commenting on swimming events in Sydney, Athens, Beijing, London, Rio, Tokyo and now Paris. It’ll be a long run that comes to an end after Los Angeles.

Gaines was born in Winter Haven, Fla. He grew up swimming there and eventually received a scholarship to Auburn.

While swimming for the Tigers, Gaines became a five-time NCAA champion, providing the launching pad for his career as a professional swimmer and later a professional broadcaster.