Now living in Perth, Western Australia, whence he moved, in October 2004 to train with the City of Perth swimming club, the 24-year-old former St Saviour’s School and Victoria College pupil starts his first term at college in Perth, on a hospitality course, in three weeks.
‘It’s time to make way for a career outside the pool,’ he said.
‘Swimming has been good to me over the years, but I’m leaving competition with no regrets.’ Boucheré’s career in the water began when he was six years old and had diving lessons with John Fage, but diagnosis of a bone condition, Perthes Disease, in which his hip joint was starting to crumble and his leg had stopped growing, took him out of the water almost before he had begun.
However, after operations, time spent in plaster, in a wheelchair and on crutches, Boucheré went back into the pool, first under the wing of the Jersey SC’s Roy Horsfall and then to AIB Tigers coach Paul du Feu.
He went on to become one of the Island’s best breast-stroke and individual medley swimmers, and although he just missed qualifying for the Melbourne Commonwealth Games he won a bronze medal at the 2006 Autralian swimming championships as a member of the City of Perth men’s 4x200m freestyle relay team.
He will, however, still be involved with swimming and will be helping former Tigers coach Matt Magee with coaching.
