Alicia Jayne Coutts, (born 14 September 1987)
is an Australian competitive medley, butterfly and freestyle
swimmer. She represented Australia at the
2008 Summer Olympics,
2012 Summer Olympics and the
2010 Commonwealth Games
The 2010 Commonwealth Games (Hindi: 2010 राष्ट्रमण्डल खेल), officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Delhi 2010, was an international multi-sport event that was held in Delhi, India, ...
(
New Delhi
New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament Ho ...
).
She was a
Swimming Australia National Training Centre scholarship holder and was coached by John Fowlie. Her haul of five medals at the
2012 Summer Olympics matches fellow Australians
Ian Thorpe
Ian James Thorpe, (born 13 October 1982) is an Australian retired swimmer who specialised in freestyle, but also competed in backstroke and the individual medley. He has won five Olympic gold medals, the most won by any Australian along wit ...
and
Shane Gould
Shane Elizabeth Gould (born 23 November 1956) is an Australian former competition swimmer. She won three gold medals, a silver medal and a bronze, at the 1972 Summer Olympics. In 2018, she won the fifth season of ''Australian Survivor,'' becom ...
in one single Olympics, and trails only
Emma McKeon
Emma Jennifer McKeon, (born 24 May 1994) is an Australian competitive swimmer. She is a four-time world record holder, one current and three former, in the 4x100 metre freestyle relay. Her total career haul of 11 Olympic medals following the ...
’s seven.
Early years
Coutts was born in
Brisbane, Queensland
Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...
.
She attended St Matthews Primary School and Chisholm Catholic College.
Career
2008 Olympics
Coutts competed at the
2008 Summer Olympics where she ended up fifth in the
200-metre individual medley.
2010 Commonwealth Games and Pan Pacs
At the
Pan Pacs, she took two relay silver medals and bronze in the 100 m butterfly.
At the
2010 Commonwealth Games
The 2010 Commonwealth Games (Hindi: 2010 राष्ट्रमण्डल खेल), officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Delhi 2010, was an international multi-sport event that was held in Delhi, India, ...
, she won the
100-metre butterfly,
100-metre freestyle,
200-metre individual medley, as well as contributing to the
4×100-metre freestyle relay and
4×100-metre medley relay, bringing her total haul to 5 gold medals. She carried the Australian flag at the
Commonwealth Games closing ceremony.
[Clark, Laine; Cratchley, Drew (15 October 2010)]
Aussies Party as Games end
, ''The Sydney Morning Herald''. Retrieved 16 October 2010. She was named the Telstra
Australian Swimmer of the Year for 2010.
At the
2011 Australian Championships which doubled as the World Championship Trials, seeking to pick up her first national title. On night two, she doubled up, taking the 100-metre butterfly by a clear margin, as well as the 200-metre individual medley, beating Olympic champion
Stephanie Rice by approximately an arm's length. She took 6th place in the 200-metre freestyle. On night six, she took gold in the 100-metre freestyle, winning by a clear margin over
Yolane Kukla. In June, she took 3 gold at the Barcelona leg of the Mare Nostrum Series, downing the meet record of the 100-metre butterfly as well as the 200-metre individual medley in a personal best time.
2011 World championships and Olympic Trials
At the
2011 World Championships on night two, Coutts took silver medals in the
100-metre butterfly and
200-metre individual medley. She swam the butterfly leg of the
4×100-metre medley relay, capturing a bronze medal.
At the
2012 Olympic Trials, she won the 100-metre butterfly holding off
Jessicah Schipper down the stretch and stopping
Libby Trickett
Lisbeth Constance Trickett, OAM (; born 28 January 1985) is a retired Australian swimmer. She was a gold medallist at the 2004 Summer Olympics, the 2008 Summer Olympics, and the 2012 Summer Olympics. She was the world record holder in the s ...
's attempt to defend her Olympic title in that event. She took silver in the 200-metre medley, booking another individual spot. She later placed in the top 6 in the 100-metre freestyle, gaining a spot on the 4×100-metre freestyle relay. On the final night she collected silver in the 4×100-metre medley relay.
2012 Olympics
On night one, she collected gold in the
4×100-metre freestyle relay with
Cate Campbell
Cate Natalie Campbell, (born 20 May 1992) is a Malawian-born Australian competitive swimmer, and a current multiple world record holder, who won two bronze medals at the 2008 Summer Olympics, a gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics, a gold a ...
,
Brittany Elmslie and
Melanie Schlanger setting a new
Olympic record
Olympic records are the best performances in a specific event in that event's history in either the Summer Olympic Games or the Winter Olympic Games, including:
* Archery (list)
* Alpine skiing (records recognized only by FIS)
* Athletics (list)
...
in the process. On night two, she collected a bronze in the
100-metre butterfly, she became the 8th fastest of all time. Night 4 she got a silver in the
200-metre individual medley becoming the 5th fastest of all time. On night 5, she anchored the
4×200-metre freestyle relay team to silver, recording a 200-metre split time of 1:56.12, 1.6 seconds quicker than her official personal best. On the final night, she collected a silver in the
4×100-metre medley relay, bringing her medal total to 5 in a single Olympic Games.
At the
2013 Australian Championships (which doubled as the qualifiers for
2013 World Aquatics Championships), Coutts won gold the 50 and 100-metre butterfly and the 200-metre individual medley, silver in the 50-metre backstroke and bronze in the 50-metre breastroke and 100-metre freestyle.
2013 World Championships
At the World Championships, she collected silver medals in the 100-metre butterfly, 200-metre medley, 4x100-metre freestyle relay, 4×200-metre freestyle relay, 4×100-metre medley relay.
2016 Olympics
At the
2016 Summer Olympics, Coutts finished fifth in the final of the 200 m individual medley. In October 2016, she announced her retirement.
Career best times
Coutts holds one Olympic record in the 4×100-metre freestyle relay, the Commonwealth records in the short-course 100-metre butterfly, 100-metre and 200-metre individual medley, and two
Commonwealth Games
The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...
records and is the fastest Australian in textile in the 200-metre individual medley and 100-metre butterfly.
Recognition
In 2012, she won the
Australian Institute of Sport Athlete of the Year Award with sailor
Tom Slingsby.
See also
*
List of Olympic medalists in swimming (women)
This is the complete list of women's Olympic medalists in swimming.
Current program
50 metre freestyle
100 metre freestyle
200 metre freestyle
400 metre freestyle
800 metre freestyle
1500 metre freestyle
100 metre backstroke
2 ...
*
*
List of Commonwealth Games medallists in swimming (women)
This is a list of women's Commonwealth Games medallists in swimming from 1930 to 2022.
Current program
50 metre freestyle
100 metre freestyle
200 metre freestyle
400 metre freestyle
800 metre freestyle
50 metre backstroke
100 metre ...
*
List of Australian records in swimming
Below is a list of current Australian swimming records as ratified by the national governing body, Swimming Australia. There are two types of Australian records. An Australian record is the best time recorded anywhere in the world by a swimmer o ...
*
List of Commonwealth records in swimming
Below is a list of current Commonwealth swimming records. This includes all countries that make up the Commonwealth of Nations. Of the 92 events, Australia currently holds records in 50 of them, Great Britain 16, South Africa 11, Canada 11, New Ze ...
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Coutts, Alicia
1987 births
Living people
Australian Institute of Sport swimmers
Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Australia
Australian female butterfly swimmers
Australian female freestyle swimmers
Australian female medley swimmers
Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics
Olympic bronze medalists for Australia
Olympic gold medalists for Australia
Olympic bronze medalists in swimming
Olympic silver medalists for Australia
Olympic swimmers for Australia
Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia
Sportswomen from Queensland
Swimmers at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Swimmers at the 2010 Commonwealth Games
Swimmers at the 2012 Summer Olympics
Swimmers at the 2014 Commonwealth Games
World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming
Swimmers from Brisbane
Swimmers at the 2016 Summer Olympics
Olympic gold medalists in swimming
Olympic silver medalists in swimming
Commonwealth Games medallists in swimming
People from Redland City
Medallists at the 2010 Commonwealth Games
Medallists at the 2014 Commonwealth Games
21st-century Australian women