Haley Augello competes at the Olympic Games Rio 2016 on Aug. 17, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro.
A former Team USA No. 1 freestyle wrestler and member of the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team, Haley Augello announced her retirement from the sport Saturday with a post on Instagram.
“After much thought & consideration, I officially would like to announce my retirement from Women’s Wrestling,” Augello wrote. “Wrestling is a sport that can give & take so much. I will never regret the years of sacrifices I’ve made because it has brought me to 27 countries, to World Championships, to the 2016 Olympics, and, most importantly, it has brought me to lifelong friendships.”
That appearance at the Olympic Games Rio 2016 came just three years after she graduated high school in Lockport, Illinois, by which time she was already a Cadet world champion and two-time Women’s Collegiate Wrestling Association national champion with King University in Bristol, Tennessee. Augello took a redshirt year in order to chase her Olympic dream, winning the U.S. Olympic Trials at 48 kg. She finished ninth in Rio, falling in the quarterfinals.
Augello moved up to 53 kg. in 2017 and made the world championship team. She again advanced to the quarterfinals, finishing eighth. Augello, 25, was third at 53 kg. in the most recent Team USA rankings and had qualified for the postponed U.S. Olympic Trials set to take place in 2021.
“Although I am putting out the flame of my competitive days, my fire will NEVER stop burning in the pursuit of athlete equality & safety,” Augello’s post continued. “When one door closes, another opens.”