Alicia Coutts OAM OLY

About Alicia

Alicia Coutts OAM OLY is an Olympic Gold Medallist who has won 19 medals in international swimming competition since 2010. At the 2012 Olympic Games she won five medals, including one gold — a haul matched among Australians at a single Olympics only by Ian Thorpe and Shane Gould, and bettered only by Emma McKeon's seven. She holds two Commonwealth Games records, and at the 2010 Commonwealth Games she recorded the fastest time ever in a FINA approved textile suit in the 200m IM, earning the honour of carrying the Australian flag at the closing ceremony. She sits in the top 10 all-time fastest performers in the 100m butterfly and 200m IM, and the top 25 in the 100m freestyle.

What makes Alicia's record more remarkable is what she swam through to build it. She overcame several personal health setbacks during her career — including glandular fever and surgery — only to come back stronger each time. Her results tell the story of a fighting character and a drive to succeed that refused to be derailed. Her peers and the sport recognised it: she won the Australian Institute of Sport Athlete of the Year Award in 2012 and was named Swimmer of the Year in both 2010 and 2012. At the 2013 FINA World Championships in Barcelona she won five silver medals — in the 100m butterfly, the 200m medley and three relays.

Audiences hear what it takes to perform at the highest level of world sport while managing setbacks that would have ended most careers — determination, discipline and the resolve to come back stronger. For sporting clubs, corporate events and motivational keynotes, Alicia Coutts brings the credibility of one of the most decorated Australian swimmers of her era, and a story of persistence that translates well beyond the pool.