Olympic swimmer Alicia Coutts' battle with eating after gaining 30kg

2023-01-22

Olympic swimmer Alicia Coutts details her crippling battle with her weight after quitting professional sport and gaining 30kg – and reveals she ‘hated looking at herself in the mirror’

Olympic gold medallist Alicia Coutts weighed 102.5kg at her heaviest in 2022
She said she struggled with her body image as a professional swimmer
She was forced to have skinfold tests and maintain a very specific weight

Olympic swimmer Alicia Coutts has detailed her crippling battle with her weight, and revealed how she gained more than 30kg after retiring from professional sport.

The 35-year-old five-time Olympic medallist and mum-of-three – who retired in 2016 – reached her heaviest weight of 102.5kg last year after struggling with depression and her spiralling body image.

At her worst, the three-time Olympian said she ‘hated looking at herself in the mirror’ and ‘didn’t know who she was anymore’.

Olympic swimmer Alicia Coutts detailed her crippling battle with weight, and revealed how she gained more than 30kg after retiring from professional sport (pictured in October 2022)

‘Going from being that full-time athlete, life was all about being fit and healthy and in good shape, to having kids and putting on that weight and not looking the way that you used to look – it became a real negative for me,’ Alicia told the Sunday Mail.

‘I found it really hard to get out of that hole which obviously saw me put on a lot of weight.’

Alicia claims that during her time as a professional swimmer, she was given additional training sessions including boot camps when she failed skinfold tests or was ‘considered to be overweight’.

Skinfold measurement is a technique to estimate how much fat is on the body.

It involves using a device called a caliper to lightly pinch the skin and underlying fat in several places.

During her swimming career, Alicia weighed around 70kg.

Alicia claims that during her time as a swimmer, she was given additional training sessions including boot camps when she failed skinfold tests or was ‘considered to be overweight’ (pictured L-R: Alicia Coutts, Melanie Schlanger, Brittany Elmsie and Cate Campbell)

A 2021 internal review of how girls and women are treated in swimming recommended dropping skinfold tests among 45 other things.

Alicia said the review, which was published last year, ‘brought up a lot of things’ about the scrutiny she faced when she was swimming:

‘I was made to do a lot of extra things – like running and boot camps because I was considered to be overweight, or my skinfolds were not good enough,’ she told the publication.

She said she was weighed ‘all the time’ to make sure she stayed at a specific weight, and admitted the treatment of the male swimmers was completely different to that of the females.

Since Christmas, Alicia has lost 5kg, signed up as an IsoWhey ambassador and is on a mission to change her attitude towards her body (pictured now after losing 5kg)

Alicia said she was weighed ‘all the time’ to make sure she stayed at a specific weight, and admitted the treatment of the male swimmers was completely different (pictured in 2014)

Since Christmas, Alicia has lost 5kg, signed up as an IsoWhey ambassador and is on a mission to change her attitude towards her body.

She shared a ‘before’ picture of herself on Instagram in a bid to inspire and motivate others.

She wrote: ‘This first image was taken on the 15th of October 2022. I was at my heaviest and feeling depressed, disgusting and had no confidence in myself.

‘Fast forward to today January 6 2023 and you can see how far I have come already with IsoWhey.’

Alicia added: ‘Looking back at this photo, when this was taken and I looked at it on Facebook I felt ashamed and embarrassed. I don’t know who that woman is. I can’t wait to see what I can achieve’.

A Swimming Australia spokesperson said the organisation ‘unreservedly apologise for the system that let Alicia down in the past’ and they are committed to changing the system.

The spokesperson said Swimming Australia is ‘incredibly proud of Alicia’s immense contribution to the sport’.

Alicia’s haul of five medals at the 2012 London Olympics puts her in the company of fellow Aussies Ian Thorpe and Shane Gould in one single Olympics (pictured with bronze at the London 2012 Olympics)

Alicia Coutts is one of the great Australian swimmers.

Her haul of five medals at the 2012 London Olympics puts her in the company of fellow Aussies Ian Thorpe and Shane Gould in one single Olympics. This trails only Emma McKeon’s seven.

Alicia holds 11 gold medals across the Olympic, Commonwealth and Pan Pacific Swimming Championships.

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