Ashley Yearwood, one of the island’s most promising young swimmers, dropped a bombshell after deciding to hang up her swim suit and racing goggles at the age of 21.

The NatWest Island Games, Carifta Championships and Caribbean Championships medallist could not be reached for comment yesterday.

However, Ben Smith, the Bermuda coach, confirmed that the Denison University student will retire at the end of this year’s college season.

“Ashley has made up her mind and will be done with her career once this university season is over and she’s kind of been on the countdown to that point,” Smith said.

“It’s too bad, but obviously she’s made her decision and she’s had a good swim career, so she’s done everything that she wanted to do.”

Smith’s attempts to try and persuade Yearwood to reconsider retirement proved fruitless as the swimmer has stuck to her guns.

“I talked to her about it several times while she was here at Christmas and then again a couple of weeks ago,” he said. “But she is convinced it’s the decision she wants to make.”

Smith believes that Yearwood stood a good chance of qualifying for this summer’s Olympic Games in Rio.

“Ashley would have been in contention for this year’s games if that had been her focus,” he said.

“She’s not far off the same athletes looking to qualify and obviously with the talent that she has we were hoping that she would be pursuing the Olympics.”

Smith cited injuries and challenges maintaining fitness because of limited competition at her university among the reasons for Yearwood’s early retirement.

“She’s done with the grind of all the training that it takes,” he said. “One of the difficulties going to a university that doesn’t have a club team is that she’s never been able to do full training after the NCAA season, which finishes at the beginning of March,” he said.

“It makes it difficult for her to prepare for any international competitions because she’s on her own and a lot of times the facility is not open, so over the last few years she hasn’t been prepared to do international competitions.

“She’s also been battling injuries over the last couple of years which has made it difficult for her.”

Yearwood gave a reminder of her talent at this month’s North Coast Athletic Conference Swimming and Diving Championships, winning gold medals in the 100 metres backstroke, 200 freestyle relay, 200 medley relay, 400 freestyle relay and 400 medley relay.

The daughter of former Jackson State University track and field athlete, Vivian Yearwood, was Bermuda’s top performer at the 2013 NatWest Island Games in Bermuda, where she won nine medals, including four gold, and set personal bests in every competition she entered.