Icon - Sam Riley

Sam Riley OAM

IN DEEP

Sam Riley OAM and her prodigious talent and megawatt smile were on every TV screen in the nation when she competed in breaststroke and medley events during the 1992 Barcelona and 1996 Atlanta Olympics – as well as the 1994 Commonwealth Games and dozens of World Championships. Her World Record in Rome in 1994 earned her the honour of Female World Swimmer of the Year. After a lifetime of travelling the globe for her sport, Sam calls the Gold Coast home and is active in the local community, heading up her own Swim Schools and working with the Gold Coast Suns AFL Club. Here, Sam shares her recollections of a brilliant swimming career and a personal discovery that led to deeper insight about her family history.

What led you to swimming? I was diagnosed with asthma at age four and when I was seven, doctors suggested to my parents that swimming would be a good form of exercise. Up until the age of 15 I was regularly in hospital with asthma. It was around this age that I met the famous swim coach, Laurie Lawrence who saw some talent and always tried to encourage me to attend more sessions. Training a few times a week with him planted the seed that one day it would be amazing to represent Australia. He was an incredible motivator and had a squad full of champions. As a young kid, I was inspired to watch their achievements while swimming alongside them.

What did you enjoy most about it? Fortunately, I really enjoyed the challenge of training, which makes life as an athlete a bit easier as it’s a hard, monotonous slog at times. My teammates and coach, Scott Volkers created an environment that was fun, supportive and we all worked really hard. The travel, camaraderie and achieving goals and breaking records were definitely highlights. What were the challenges? The main challenge was the monotony at times. Being a swimmer, you had to put in early mornings and long hours. What are some of your career highlights? The 1994 World Championships in Rome stand out as a highlight. It was at a time that the Chinese girls were dominating so to remain focussed and achieve a World Record and two Gold Medals was something I had always aspired to achieve. It was awesome. And the experience of swimming at the Olympics is another highlight. I came away with a silver and two bronze. Living in the Olympic Village was so much fun. Post-swimming, where did your career take you? I have been running my own businesses for the past 20 years. Currently we are about to celebrate 20 years of our learn to swim business - Sam Riley Swim Schools. We are trying to work out how many children we have taught over those two decades! I am also involved in the Gym Industry, owning seven SNAP Fitness Gyms. Have you encouraged your kids to pursue swimming or competitive sport? I have encouraged my children to pursue sport as it offers so many benefits. They have all found their own love of different sports. They are great swimmers, my youngest still competes but my two older boys didn’t continue competitively. They love AFL, Rugby Union and Nippers. What is your role at The Gold Coast Suns? My role with The Suns is in Consumer and Community, AFLW and also sitting on the Indigenous Advisory Group. We are lucky enough at The Suns to have Jarrod Harbrow leading the way and he does a great job in driving some awesome outcomes. Have you explored your Indigenous background and how does it impact your life and work? My mum was adopted and grew up thinking she was Italian, so we both discovered our heritage later in life. It has been a great journey for my mum to discover some of her family history and she has researched quite extensively. It is really interesting and great to have more knowledge of our past. Sam SUMMER • 2022/23 15