Emily Jane Seebohm, OAM (born 5 June 1992) is an Australian swimmer and television personality. She has appeared at four Olympic Games between

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

and

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

; and won three Olympic gold medals, five world championship gold medals and seven Commonwealth Games gold medals. She specialises in the backstroke, but has also won medals in the freestyle and individual medley.

Career

At the age of 14, Seebohm won the 100 m backstroke at the 2007 Australian Championships, the selection meet for the 2007 World Aquatics Championships. At the World Championships in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, Seebohm won a gold medal in the 4 × 100 m medley relay. She also placed fourth in the final of the 100 m backstroke and 14th in the 50 m backstroke. Seebohm also won gold in both the 100 m backstroke and 4 × 100 m medley relay at the 2007 Junior

Pan Pacific Swimming Championships The Pan Pacific Swimming Championships is a long course swimming event first held in 1985. On 22 March 2008, Seebohm broke the world record in the 50 m backstroke in the semi-finals of the 2008 Australian Championships, with a time of 27.95s, taking five hundredths of a second off Hayley McGregory's world record of 28.00 set only 15 days earlier on 7 March 2008. A day later, this record was beaten again, this time by Australian Sophie Edington in a time of 27.67 seconds in the final of the same event. Seebohm decided not to swim in the final of this event as it is not an Olympic event and instead decided to focus on the semi-final of the 100 m backstroke. Her decision paid off when she became the first Australian woman to break the one-minute barrier in the event, her 59.78 making her the fifth-fastest of all-time. She then lowered the record to 59.58 s in the final, winning the Australian championship and gaining selection for the Olympic Games in Beijing. At the 2008 Summer Olympics, Seebohm placed ninth overall in the 100 m backstroke, barely missing a spot in the final. Seebohm then swam in both the preliminaries and final of the 4 × 100 m medley relay, in which Australia won the gold medal. At the

2009 World Aquatics Championships The 2009 World Aquatics Championships ( it, Campionati mondiali di nuoto 2009) or the XIII FINA World Championships were held in Rome, Italy from 18 July to 2 August 2009. The 2009 Championships featured competition in all 5 aquatics disciplines ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, Seebohm won the bronze medal in the 100 m backstroke with a time of 58.88. She also won silver in the 4 × 100 m medley relay, and placed 7th in the 50 m backstroke and 15th in the 200 m IM. At the 2009 Australian Short Course Championships, Seebohm broke the world record in the 100 m IM in 58.54. At the

2010 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships The eleventh edition of the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, also known as the 2010 Mutual of Omaha Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, a long course (50 m) event, was held in Irvine, California, United States, from August 18–22. M ...

, on the first night she defeated Olympic champion

Natalie Coughlin Natalie Anne Coughlin Hall (born August 23, 1982) is an American former competition swimmer and twelve-time Olympic medalist. While attending the University of California, Berkeley, she became the first woman ever to swim the 100-meter backstro ...

in the 100 m backstroke, taking gold in championship record time, as well as taking silver in the 50 m butterfly. On the second night, she took silver in the 100 m freestyle in her first attempt at the event at international level. On night 3 she took another silver in the 4 × 100 m freestyle relay. Final night saw her take the gold in the 200 m individual medley, topping world champion and record holder Ariana Kukors. Later on in the night she broke the 100 m backstroke championship record in the lead off leg of the 4 × 100 m medley relay, Australia finished with silver. Later on in the year she collected 8 medals 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, ...

Seebohm was tracked by the BBC as part of their series World Olympic Dreams, which followed her as she prepared for London 2012. Kazan 2015 - Seebohm wins 200m backstroke

Kazan 2015 - Seebohm wins 200m backstroke

At the 2012 London Olympics, Seebohm set a new Olympic record in a 100m backstroke qualifier and was heavily backed to win the gold in the final of the event but fell just short and gained a silver medal. At the

2013 Australian Swimming Championships The 2013 Australian Swimming Championships were held from 26 April until 3 May 2013 at the South Australia Aquatic and Leisure Centre in Adelaide, South Australia. They doubled up as the national trials for the 2013 World Aquatics Championships. ...

she won gold in the 50 m and 100 m backstroke and silver in 200 m individual medley and bronze in the 200 m backstroke events, qualifying for the 2013 World Aquatics Championships. At the World Championships, she teamed up with Bronte Campbell,

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 ...

and Brittany Elmslie in the heats of the 4 × 100 m freestyle, finishing second in their heat and overall. In the final sisters

Cate Cate is a feminine given name. It is a variant of Kate. The name comes from Latin, French, English, and Welsh origins. The name literally means either 'pure' or 'blessed', used in different context. The name Catherine is popular in Christian coun ...

and Bronte Campbell,

and Alicia Coutts won the silver medal, finishing 0.12 seconds behind the United States. At the 2016 Summer Olympics, Seebohm represented Australia in both the 100 m and 200 m backstroke and won silver in the 4 × 100 m medley relay. In June 2021, Seebohm qualified for the

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the 1 ...

after finishing second in the 100m backstroke event at the Australian Olympic trials in a time of 58.59. The Tokyo Olympics were Seebohm's fourth consecutive Olympic Games, making her only one of three Australian swimmers to compete at four Olympic Games. At those Olympics she won a gold medal in the 4 x 100 metre medley relay, and a bronze medal in 200 metre backstroke.

International Swimming League

In the Autumn of 2019 she was member of the inaugural

International Swimming League The International Swimming League (ISL) is an annual professional Swimming (sport), swimming league, established in 2019. It features a team-based competition format with fast-paced race sessions. In 2019, the regular season started in October an ...

swimming for the Energy Standard International Swim Club, who won the team title in Las Vegas, Nevada, in December.

Career Best Times

World records

Long course metres

split 1:00.79 (1st leg); with

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 ...

(2nd leg), Jessica Schipper (3rd leg), Libby Lenton (4th leg)
split 59.33 (1st leg); with Leisel Jones (2nd leg), Jessica Schipper (3rd leg), Libby Trickett (4th leg)

Short course metres

Olympic records

Long course metres

split 59.33 (backstroke leg); with

(breaststroke leg ), Jessicah Schipper (butterfly leg), Libby Trickett (freestyle leg)

Personal life

When Seebohm was three she moved with her family 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 ...

Brisbane 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 ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

so her mother could coach swimming. Seebohm attended St Joseph's Catholic Primary School until Grade 7, and then moved on to St John Fisher College, a Catholic school for girls. Both schools are in Bracken Ridge. She attended St John Fisher College up until the end of 2008, where she completed grade 10, and previously attended

St Margaret's Anglican Girls School St Margaret's Anglican Girls School is a private, Anglican, day and boarding school for girls. The school is located in Ascot, an inner-northern suburb of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The school was founded in 1895 by the Sisters of the So ...

. Her father John Seebohm was also an accomplished footballer in the

SANFL The South Australian National Football League, or SANFL ( or ''S-A-N-F-L''), is an Australian rules football league based in the Australian state of South Australia. It is also the state's governing body for the sport. Originally formed as the ...

, who played over 300 games for the Glenelg Tigers. Emily has a swimming complex,
The Emily Seebohm Aquatic Centre
, named after her in Bracken Ridge. On 26 January 2009, Seebohm was awarded the

Medal of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

. Seebohm has endometriosis and is an ambassador for the non-profit organisation Endometriosis Australia In 2015, Seebohm began a relationship with fellow swimmer,

Mitch Larkin Mitchell James Larkin (born 9 July 1993) is an Australian competitive swimmer who specialises in backstroke events. He currently represents the Cali Condors which is part of the International Swimming League. Larkin competed for Australia at th ...

. The couple owned a house together in Hendra, Brisbane. In July 2018, Seebohm announced their separation. In 2019, Seebohm moved on with breakfast radio host David Lutteral, however after more than a year of dating, the pair split in March 2021. Seebohm confirmed in December 2022 that she was dating Ryan Gallagher, who she met while filming ''The Challenge Australia''. In January 2022 Seebohm appeared as a contestant in the 8th season of the Australian version of '' I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!''. Later the same year, she competed on '' The Challenge: Australia''.

References

External links

*
archive 2
* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Seebohm, Emily 1992 births Living people Australian people of German descent World record holders in swimming Olympic swimmers of Australia Swimmers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for Australia Olympic silver medalists for Australia Olympic bronze medalists for Australia Sportswomen from South Australia Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Swimmers at the 2010 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Australia Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Australia Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Australia World record setters in swimming World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming Australian female freestyle swimmers Australian female medley swimmers Australian female backstroke swimmers Australian female butterfly swimmers Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2014 Commonwealth Games Sportspeople from Adelaide Medalists at the FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) Swimmers at the 2016 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists in swimming Olympic silver medalists in swimming Olympic bronze medalists in swimming Commonwealth Games medallists in swimming People educated at St Margaret's Anglican Girls' School Swimmers at the 2020 Summer Olympics I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! (Australian TV series) participants The Challenge (TV series) contestants

Career

International Swimming League

Career Best Times

World records

Long course metres

Short course metres

Olympic records

Long course metres

Personal life

See also

References

External links