Dual Olympian Alice Tait says goodbye to swimming

Swimming Australia
Published: Jun 4, 2012 10:37:39 AM Updated: Nov 13, 2012 10:20:15 AM

Triple Olympic medallist and all-round nice girl Alice Tait (nee Mills) has officially announced her retirement from the sport of swimming.

The shy Queenslander was selected for her first senior Australian team in 2002, at just 15-years-of-age.  Making her international debut at the Manchester Commonwealth Games, Alice won gold in the 4x100m freestyle – an event that she would later become known for.

With the assistance of her coach Shannon Rollason, she went on to compete at two Olympic Games, two World Championships and three Commonwealth Games. 

At the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, Alice combined with Libby Trickett, Petria Thomas and Jodie Henry to win gold in the women’s 4x100m freestyle relay for the first time since Dawn Fraser led the relay team in 1956. 

Four years later at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games Alice joined forces with her most recent Gold Coast training partner Melanie Schlanger her 2004 Olympic relay team-mate Libby Trickett and a young Cate Campbell to take the bronze medal in the same event.

Over her 10-year international career Alice managed to collect an impressive seven medals as a member of the 4x100m freestyle relay team as well as five individual medals in sprint freestyle, butterfly and the 200m individual medley events as a member of the senior Australian Swim Team.

On behalf of Swimming Australia we would like to thank Alice for her dedication and positive attitude to the sport.  Her smiling face will be dearly missed and we know that the many friends Alice has made throughout the years will be sad to see her go.

We wish Alice all the best for her post-swimming career and life with husband Gregor Tait and we hope that Alice will look back fondly on her many years as a part of the Australian Swim Team.