Sarah Michelle Ryan, OAM (born 20 February 1977) is an Australian former sprint freestyle swimmer, who won relay medals at three consecutive Olympics from the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

to the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

Career

Coming from

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

, South Australia, Ryan attended the Catholic Mount Carmel College, before moving to the

Australian Institute of Sport The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) is a high performance sports training institution in Australia. The Institute's headquarters were opened in 1981 and are situated in the northern suburb of Bruce, Canberra. The AIS is a division of the ...

, Canberra, in 1993 after being awarded a scholarship. She gained selection for Australia the following year at the

1994 Commonwealth Games The 1994 Commonwealth Games ( French: ''XVéme Jeux du Commonwealth'') were held in Victoria, British Columbia, from 18 to 28 August 1994. Ten types of sports were featured at the Victoria Games: athletics, aquatics, badminton, boxing, cycling, ...

in Victoria, British Columbia. In 1996, in Atlanta, she came sixth in the 100-metre freestyle, and was a member of the 4×100-metre medley relay along with Susie O'Neill,

Samantha Riley Samantha Linette Pearl Riley (born 13 November 1972) is an Australian breaststroke swimmer of Aboriginal descent who competed for Australia in the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona and the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, winning three medals ...

and Nicole Stevenson, which claimed silver behind the United States team. At the

1998 Commonwealth Games The 1998 Commonwealth Games ''(Malay: Sukan Komanwel 1998)'', officially known as the XVI Commonwealth Games ''(Malay: Sukan Komanwel ke-16)'', was a multi-sport event held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This edition is marked by several unprecedent ...

in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, she was a part of the team which won the 4×100-metre freestyle relay only days after the death of her father. In 2000, in Sydney, Ryan failed to qualify for the finals of either the 50- or 100-metre freestyle. She was a member of the 4×100-metre freestyle relay which placed sixth and collected a silver for swimming in the heats of the 4×100-metre medley relay, being replaced by O'Neill in the final, again second to the Americans. In 2001, possibly her most savoured moment came at the FINA World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, when she anchored the 4×100-metre medley relay team with

Dyana Calub Dyana Jane Calub (born 28 November 1975) is an Australian former backstroke swimmer of the 2000s, who won the silver medal in the 4×100-metre medley relay at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. Training at Kingscliff, New South Wales, Calub ...

Leisel Jones Leisel Marie Jones, OAM (born 30 August 1985) is an Australian former competition swimmer and Olympic gold medallist. A participant in the 2000 Summer Olympics – at just 15 years old – and 2004 Summer Olympics, she was part of gold-medal- ...

and

Petria Thomas Petria Ann Thomas, (born 25 August 1975) is an Australian swimmer and Olympic gold medallist and a winner of 15 national titles. She was born in Lismore, New South Wales, and grew up in the nearby town of Mullumbimby. Career In 1993, at the a ...

to a long-awaited win over the American team. It was the first time that Australia had defeated the Americans at either Olympic or World level in the event. The year 2002 broke another drought, with Ryan being part of a 4×100-metre freestyle team alongside

Jodie Henry Jodie Clare Henry, OAM (born 17 November 1983) is an Australian competitive swimmer, Olympic gold medallist and former world-record holder. Early life and career Henry was born in Brisbane, Queensland. She began swimming competitively at the ...

, Alice Mills and Thomas, which defeated the Americans for the first time since 1956. In 2003, Ryan took time away from swimming and commenced a job as a breakfast radio presenter, as well as an occasional swimming analyst on SBS' ''Toyota World Sports'' and Channel Nine's ''Wide World of Sports''. However, with Australia's young sprinting talent on the rise, she made a comeback to qualify for the 4×100-metre freestyle relay team for the

in Athens. Ryan swam in the heats, but was replaced in the final by Thomas, who combined with Henry, Mills and

Libby Lenton 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 shor ...

to claim gold in a world record time of 3min 35.94 seconds. Ryan retired after the games. In 2006, to support

multiple sclerosis Multiple (cerebral) sclerosis (MS), also known as encephalomyelitis disseminata or disseminated sclerosis, is the most common demyelinating disease, in which the insulating covers of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord are damaged. This d ...

research, Ryan teamed up with 2003 ''

Australian Idol ''Australian Idol'' is an Australian singing competition, which began its first season in July 2003 and ended its initial run in November 2009. As part of the ''Idol'' franchise, Australian Idol originated from the reality program ''Pop Idol' ...

'' winner and award-winning recording artist

Guy Sebastian Guy Theodore Sebastian (born 26 October 1981) is an Australian singer and songwriter who was the winner of the first '' Australian Idol'' in 2003, judge on Australia's ''The X Factor'' from 2010 to 2012 and again from 2015 to 2016, and coach ...

in 7 Network's '' It Takes Two'', in which famous accomplished Australians from their different fields, and not known to be singers, performed duets with professional vocalists to support their chosen charity. Ryan and Sebastian were the last team to be eliminated, making them the runners-up in the competition. She was an

scholarship holder.AIS at the Olympics
As of May 2009 Sarah Ryan started working for the YMCA of Sydney at Mount Annan Leisure Centre as a Learn-to-swim teacher and swim coach. Sarah now works for Mater Dei, an organization that provides early intervention therapy services and education for babies, children and young people with an intellectual disability or developmental delay.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ryan, Sarah 1977 births Living people Sportswomen from South Australia Olympic swimmers of Australia Swimmers at the 1996 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2000 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2004 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for Australia Olympic silver medalists for Australia Swimming commentators Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Australia Australian Institute of Sport swimmers Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Australia Australian female freestyle swimmers World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Medalists at the FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Adelaide Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists in swimming Olympic silver medalists in swimming Commonwealth Games medallists in swimming Swimmers at the 1994 Commonwealth Games Swimmers at the 1998 Commonwealth Games Swimmers at the 2002 Commonwealth Games

Career

See also

References

External links