Alicia Jayne Coutts,OAM (born 14 September 1987)[1] is an Australian competitive medley, butterfly and freestyleswimmer. She represented Australia at the2008 Summer Olympics,2012 Summer Olympics[1] and the2010 Commonwealth Games (New Delhi).[2] She was aSwimming Australia National Training Centre scholarship holder and was coached by John Fowlie. Her haul of five medals at the2012 Summer Olympics matches fellow AustraliansIan Thorpe andShane Gould in one single Olympics, and trails onlyEmma McKeon’s seven.
Coutts was born inBrisbane, Queensland.[1] She attended St Matthews Primary School andChisholm Catholic College.[3]
Coutts competed at the2008 Summer Olympics where she ended up fifth in the200-metre individual medley.[1]
At thePan Pacs, she took two relay silver medals and bronze in the 100 m butterfly.
At the2010 Commonwealth Games, she won the100-metre butterfly,100-metre freestyle,200-metre individual medley, as well as contributing to the4×100-metre freestyle relay and4×100-metre medley relay, bringing her total haul to 5 gold medals. She carried the Australian flag at theCommonwealth Games closing ceremony.[2] She was named the TelstraAustralian Swimmer of the Year for 2010.
At the2011 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 championStephanie 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 overYolane 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.
At the2011 World Championships on night two, Coutts took silver medals in the100-metre butterfly and200-metre individual medley. She swam the butterfly leg of the4×100-metre medley relay, capturing a bronze medal.[citation needed]
At the2012 Olympic Trials, she won the 100-metre butterfly holding offJessicah Schipper down the stretch and stoppingLibby Trickett'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.[citation needed]
On night one, she collected gold in the4×100-metre freestyle relay withCate Campbell,Brittany Elmslie andMelanie Schlanger setting a newOlympic record in the process. On night two, she collected a bronze in the100-metre butterfly, she became the 8th fastest of all time. Night 4 she got a silver in the200-metre individual medley becoming the 5th fastest of all time. On night 5, she anchored the4×200-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 the4×100-metre medley relay, bringing her medal total to 5 in a single Olympic Games.
At the2013 Australian Championships (which doubled as the qualifiers for2013 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.
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.[4]
At the2016 Summer Olympics, Coutts finished fifth in the final of the 200 m individual medley.[5] In October 2016, she announced her retirement.[6]
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 twoCommonwealth Games records and is the fastest Australian in textile in the 200-metre individual medley and 100-metre butterfly.
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In 2012, she won theAustralian Institute of Sport Athlete of the Year Award with sailorTom Slingsby.[7]
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| Preceded by | Pacific Rim Swimmer of the Year 2010 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Australian Athlete of the Year 2012 (withTom Slingsby) | Succeeded by |
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