Sarah Michelle Ryan, (born 20 February 1977) is an Australian former sprint

freestyle swimmer Freestyle is a category of swimming competition, defined by the rules of World Aquatics, in which competitors are subject to only a few limited restrictions on their swimming stroke. Freestyle races are the most common of all swimming competit ...

, 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 (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

Early life

Coming from

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

, 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.AIS at the Olympics

Swimming career

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, Canada, between 18 and 28 August 1994. Ten types of sports were featured at the Victoria Games: athletics, aquatics, badminton, box ...

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Gre ...

. In 1996, at the

Atlanta 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, ...

, she came sixth in the 100-metre freestyle, and was a member of the 4×100-metre medley relay along with

Susie O'Neill Susan O'Neill, (born 2 August 1973) is an Australian former competitive swimmer from Brisbane, Queensland, nicknamed "Madame Butterfly". She achieved eight Olympic Games medals during her swimming career. Early life O'Neill was born on 2 Augu ...

Samantha Riley Samantha Linette Pearl Riley (born 13 November 1972) is an Australian former competitive swimmer. She is of Aboriginal descent. She specialised in breaststroke and competed for Australia in the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona and the 1996 ...

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

1998 Commonwealth Games The 1998 Commonwealth Games ( Malay: ), officially known as the XVI Commonwealth Games (Malay: ), were a multi-sport event held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The 1998 games were the first held in Asia and the last Commonwealth Games of the 20th cen ...

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, at the

Sydney Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

, 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,

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 swimming (sport), 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 ...

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, (born 17 November 1983) is an Australian former competitive swimmer, Olympic gold medallist at the 2004 Summer Olympics and former world-record holder. Swimming career At the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, Henry wo ...

, 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, (; born 28 January 1985) is an Australian retired competitive swimmer. She was a gold medallist at the 2004, 2008, and the 2012 Summer Olympics. She was the world record holder in the short-course (25m) 100-metre fr ...

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

Post swimming

In 2006, to support

multiple sclerosis Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease resulting in damage to myelinthe insulating covers of nerve cellsin the brain and spinal cord. As a demyelinating disease, MS disrupts the nervous system's ability to Action potential, transmit ...

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 Id ...

'' winner and award-winning recording artist

Guy Sebastian Guy Theodore Sebastian (born 26 October 1981) is an Australian singer who rose to fame after winning the Australian Idol (season 1), first season of ''Australian Idol'', in 2003. Born in Malaysia and raised in Adelaide, Australia, Sebastian h ...

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. 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. Ryan 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

Early life

Swimming career

Post swimming

See also

References

External links