Olympic Medalist and Chapel Hillian Nick McCrory Retires

23-year-old Olympic medalist and Chapel Hillian Nick McCrory announced his retirement from diving earlier this year. But he’s not putting the sport behind him just quite yet.

It wasn’t an easy decision to make after diving for 15 years, but he recently came to the conclusion that it was time to call it quits.

“It was really hard and a decision I didn’t want to make. I don’t remember not diving in my life. It’s always been a huge part of what I do and who I am so that was really tough and huge adjustment,” Nick says.

Nick’s decision was partly due to a degenerative knee condition that he’s been battling for several years. Eventually, the condition became too much to work around.

Nick McCrory in action!

Nick’s mother, Ana McCrory, says that his time spent training and competing shaped him as person, and she believes that his experiences will benefit him as he moves forward.

“It was a wonderful, overall, wonderful experience for him and one he’ll never forget. And its really shaped him as a person, you know, its taught him how to interact with other people from different cultures. As well as how to control his.. you know he was always such an active child, and he had to learn a lot of self control and diving certainly did that for him,” Ana McCrory says.

Nick is currently living in Indiana, where he is preparing for medical school applications and volunteering alongside his coach, Drew Johansen.

“Well I mean I love coaching and Drew knows that. One of the things that I liked about him as a coach is his technical approach to the sport and how detail oriented he is. One of the things that he does is watch a lot of diving videos to help become a better coach. He knows that I love the technical side of the sport and coaching in that way, so that was kind of how the connection got made,” Nick says.

Ana McCrory can tell that Nick is really enjoying helping out Coach Johansen.

WCHL’s own Ron Stutts in studio with Nick McCrory and his medal.

“He loves working with kids, loves teaching them, you know, all those diving skills that he knows. He gets great pleasure from seeing the kids learning things that he has taught them, so that’s been really nice,” Ana says.

Nick doesn’t know if this will lead to a career in coaching, but he hopes he’ll be able to stay involved with diving as he moves on to the next chapter in his life.

“I’m still figuring all that out. I do love to coach, I love the sport of diving. I don’t know right now if that’s a thing I’ll end up doing for a career. But whatever I end up doing, I do hope to stay involved in diving in some capacity whether it’s coaching on the side, or helping whatever program I am living nearby or various other things. I think diving is such a special thing that I always want to be involved in, in some way,” Nick says.

‹

17 Tar Heels Competing for Olympic Gold in Rio

With the Summer Olympics Games set to begin next week, 17 athletes with ties to UNC will be making the trip to Rio to compete for their respective countries. Former Tar Heel student-athletes will compete for the United States, Turkey, India and New Zealand in the games across track and field, field hockey, men’s and […]

Five Tar Heels Representing United States Field Hockey in Olympics

Five former Tar Heels have been selected for the 16-member team that will represent the United States in women’s field hockey at the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Brazil this August. Jackie Briggs, Rachel Dawson, Katelyn Falgowski, Kelsey Kolojejchick and Caitlin Van Sickle were named to the team on Friday. This will be the third […]

On Air Today: Glenn Boothe of AndMoreAgainPresents Talks Concert Promotion

Glenn Boothe of AndMoreAgainPresents joined 97.9 The Hill's Andrew Stuckey on Friday, July 17. He discussed recent concerts he's attended, and looked ahead to some he's looking forward to. He also discussed a recent trip to Minneapolis for a conference of independent concert promoters and venue owners, and more.

Patrick Greene Named as Next Principal of Chapel Hill High School

The CHCCS Board of Education has confirmed the appointment of Patrick Greene as the next principal of Chapel Hill High School.

The Morning News: Orange County's Wolf Dogs, Five Years Later

In today's news: we revisit the wolf dogs who captivated our community when they went loose in Cedar Grove five years ago.

Chapel Hill: The Land Use Management Ordinance Rewrite Draft Goes Live

Chapel Hill Mayor Jess Anderson spoke with 97.9 The Hill's Andrew Stuckey on Thursday, July 16. She discussed the release of the town's long-awaited rewrite of the town's Land Use Management Ordinance (LUMO). She outlined the key tenants of the current document, and also recounted the history of the document and the reason for the rewrite. She previewed some community outreach on the document and talked about the timeline going forward. She also previewed some upcoming events and more.

On Air Today: 97.9 The Hill and Chapelboro.com Social Media Manager Henry Taylor

The Hill and Chapelboro.com Social Media Manager Henry Taylor joined 97.9 The Hill's Andrew Stuckey on Monday, July 13. He discussed an eventful weekend that involved rescuing a stray cat. He also talked about the latest on Chapelboro social media platforms, including a recent increase of attention on Instagram, and more. 

Chapel Hill: Chantal Anniversary, State Budget, Summer Schedule

Chapel Hill Mayor Jess Anderson spoke with 97.9 The Hill's Andrew Stuckey on Thursday, July 9, discussing town news and events. She talked about the after effects of Tropical Depression Chantal. She also talked about the passage of the state budget, which could includes potential Chantal Relief funds, and more. She also talked about the summer schedule for the town council, which includes some community outreach on LUMO, an more.

Combination Jimmy John's, Baskin-Robbins Store Coming to West Franklin Street

A combination Jimmy John’s and Baskin-Robbins store will soon open on West Franklin Street in downtown Chapel Hill. The store is located at 143 West Franklin Street, Suite 90, in the same building which houses Target. The suite was most recently occupied by pūrvelo cycle. Currently, neither Jimmy John’s nor Baskin-Robbins have any open stores […]

Celebration of Independence Day to Alter Local Government Services in Orange County

The celebration of Independence Day on Friday, July 3 and Saturday, July 4 will affect several local government services in and around Orange County. Here’s a look at what typical services will and won’t be happening during the weekend: Town of Chapel Hill All Chapel Hill administrative offices will be closed Friday, July 3, as […]

›