2012 Olympic gold medalist Alicia Coutts was perhaps the biggest name left off of Australia’s roster for this summer’s World Championships, and the future of her swimming career could now be in doubt.
Coutts has been a mainstay on the Australian national team since the 2008 Olympics, and in 2012, led the team with 5 total medals including gold in the 4×100 free relay.
The versatile Aussie publicly said she was considering retirement back in October, and also dealt with a major shoulder surgery. She came into this week’s Australian Championships with shortened preparation, and wound up just missing the roster for Worlds.
Coutts was 6th in the 100 free, which could have technically earned her a spot. But Australia is very deep in the event, and Madi Wilson bettered Coutts’ finals time in the semifinals before scratching out of the final. With Wilson already on the team to swim backstroke, she’ll also serve as Australia’s 6th 100 freestyler instead of Coutts, according to The Australian.
Australia’s Sydney Morning Herald speculates that Coutts could once again be considering retirement. SMH writer Laine Clark writes that “Coutts sounded like someone who was closing the book on an extraordinary career on Saturday night.” You can read that full piece here.
Coutts is 27 and will get married later this year. She’s earned a total of 25 international medals in her career, including 5 from the Olympic Games.
I don’t know where you got your information from, but Alicia WAS NOT Recently Married at the time this Article was Posted! … I was chatting with her on may 24th on Twitter, and asked her if she had found a Photographer (because she had asked her Twitter Followers if anyone could recommend one, back in February): She replied to me saying that she Had Found a Photographer, and also a Videographer. She then Tweeted in August that her Wedding was in 1 Month ….. https://twitter.com/Alicia_Coutts/status/631426329175461888
Alicia was not Married until September.
I hope she stays true to her word…this is what she just tweeted:
Thanks 4 ur support. Really appreciate it. Sad 2 miss the Aussie team but more determined 2 prove myself. Bring on rio!!! #downbutnotout
Since the London Olympics, Alicia hasn’t had the same winning spark – she has appeared quite lackadaisical in her post race interviews. I guess that’s what you call the Olympic hangover. IMO, it looked as though swimming was a chore to her and her passion was lost.
2015 will be a good year for Alicia to put everything into perspective, she is an absolute champion and she has consistently proven in the past that is a god given treasure to any swim team.… Read more »
Awesome! There is encouragement coming your way from the US too, Alicia! 🙂
She’ll stick to her word: Unless something beyond her control prevents her from doing so. She’s That Type Of Girl. She Says Something, She Does It.
She was to originally get Married in 2014, and apparently was planning to start a family this year (2015), but missed out on the Venue because it was booked out. She then postponed the Wedding until September This Year (so the mention of her recently been married in this article is Incorrect). When she had to Postpone the Wedding, she also decided that they would be happy to put off having kids until after RIO 2016.
If Alicia had shoulder surgery and a wedding/honeymoon interrupting her training this year, yet still made the cut time in the 100 fly (even though she was 4th) and 6th in the 100 final free final, I hope she’ll take a short break and re-group to train for Australia’s Olympic Trials! First, she’s her nation’s best hope in the 200 IM, which she chose not to swim in this meet because it conflicted with the 100 fly and I’m sure because of limited training. Second, it would be terrible for her to have to look back on her career with any regrets. Finish what you started, try your best, and be happy with whatever happens in the end, that’s usually… Read more »
I don’t think Alicia Coutts will look back at her swimming career with any regret even if she retires today.
She won Olympics gold. She won 5 Olympics medals in London, the only other female swimmer winning as many Olympics medals in London was Missy Franklin.
She won 8 worlds medals, including 5 in Barcelona. Again the only other female swimmer that won more was Franklin.
She won 9 Commonwealth medals including 8 golds.
She won 6 pan pacs medals including 2 golds.
She broke 200 IM textile record in 2010.
Do you think she has regrets?
I don’t think so.
I don’t think an athlete like Coutts looks back on her career and rates his/her success based upon the number of international medals they’ve won. That’s the way a fan or historian or journalist might rate their career. I think a top-level swimmer asks themselves if they gave 100% of what they had to give in training and were able to achieve the goal times they set for themselves, if they ultimately reached their full potential, and if they are proud of the way they competed on the big occasions. And make no mistake about it, for a swimmer, races at the Worlds and Olympics are THE big occasions. Missing out on an Olympic berth because she retired a year… Read more »
I agree with you on “superstar swimmers dream about those big races after they retire”, that’s why you have Phelps and Hackett back to swimming these days, and these why I already made prediction during 2012 London that Phelps would unretire.
But regrets? I guess, that’s only the swimmers themselves that know the feeling.
Australia should have brought Coutts to Kazan, that way they would rest top four in both 4×100 and 4×200.
I’d chalk this up as another blunder for relay decision.
Uuhhhmmmmnnn !!! That Contradicts Your Own Article! … She Didn’t Qualify in the Final Time. Even though She could have Technically Qualified, Madi Wilson beat Alicia’s Final Time.