{"id":360569,"date":"2019-03-26T10:26:57","date_gmt":"2019-03-26T17:26:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=360569"},"modified":"2019-04-17T18:54:54","modified_gmt":"2019-04-18T01:54:54","slug":"australian-olympian-stephanie-rice-to-be-inducted-into-the-international-swimming-hall-of-fame","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/australian-olympian-stephanie-rice-to-be-inducted-into-the-international-swimming-hall-of-fame\/","title":{"rendered":"Australian Olympian, Stephanie Rice, To Be Inducted Into the International Swimming Hall of Fame"},"content":{"rendered":"

Swimmer Stephanie Rice<\/strong> is a two-time Olympian, triple Olympic gold medalist and five-time world record holder who dominated the 200 and 400 IM events.\u00a0 For her performance in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, she was awarded “Female Swimmer of the Meet” alongside Michael Phelps receiving the counterpart award.\u00a0 After retiring from a successful career in swimming, the young entrepreneur has many ventures going and is giving back to the sport by developing Learn-to-Swim programs in India with the goal of producing India\u2019s very first Olympic swimming medalist.\u00a0 Stephanie Rice will be inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame as a member of the Class of 2019 during the Honoree Induction ceremony in Fort Lauderdale, Florida,<\/a> May 18, 2019.<\/p>\n

Meet Stephanie in person and hear her inspirational life story at the ISHOF Induction dinner.\u00a0<\/a> Become an ISHOF Legacy Member and attend the ISHOF Induction Dinner for FREE.<\/a>\u00a0 Can’t attend the event? Please consider making a donation to ISHOF<\/a> to support Stephanie and our other inspirational honorees<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Stephanie<\/h2>\n

About Stephanie<\/h2>\n

Stephanie Rice sits in the company of only six other legendary Australian athletes that have won a total of three gold medals at one Olympic Games.\u00a0 Five of the other six are also swimmers and all but one are Hall of Famers: Ian Thorpe<\/strong>, Murray Rose<\/strong>, Shane Gould<\/strong>, Petria Thomas<\/strong> and Jodie Henry<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Rice is a two-time Olympian, triple Olympic gold medalist and five-time world record holder.\u00a0 She excels in all four strokes, making her a very successful IM swimmer for her country.<\/p>\n

Rice qualified for Age Group Nationals at about age 13, while swimming for Vince Raleigh<\/strong> at Brothers Swim Club.\u00a0 Coach Matt Brown<\/strong> took over the coaching of Stephanie for the next year.\u00a0 While under Brown\u2019s direction, she really began to excel, qualifying her for the Trans-Tasmin Meet and Junior Pan-Pacs in Hawaii (2002).<\/p>\n

With Stephanie really starting to make headway in her swimming career, she decided she needed to make a drastic move to help take her to the next level.\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0That move was to select a new coach that could help her obtain her goals.\u00a0 That man was Michael Bohl<\/strong>, and it turned out to be the perfect decision for Stephanie.\u00a0 Bohl and Rice would remain together for the rest of her swimming career.<\/p>\n

Stephanie burst onto the international scene in 2006 by winning two gold medals at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, one in the 200 IM, in a time of 2:12.90 and the second in the 400 IM.\u00a0 The World Championships, the next year, in 2007, also in Melbourne, were a success for Rice as well.\u00a0 She took bronze in the 200m IM, in a time of 2:11.42, while breaking the Australian record by an entire second. In the 400, she won her second bronze with a time of 4:41.19, taking 0.54 off her best time.\u00a0 It was a personal best for Rice.<\/p>\n

\"Stephanie<\/p>\n

That same year, Rice attended a meet in Italy, where she posted a new personal best in the 400 IM, swimming a 4:40.79, inching closer and closer to that 4:40 mark.\u00a0 Next up, the Japanese Open, where she finally hit the 4:40 mark she had been chasing, and in the process, setting a new Australian and Commonwealth record with a time 4:37.18.<\/p>\n

In March 2008, Rice competed at the Australian Olympic Trials and broke the world record in the 200- and 400-meter IM, winning the events and qualifying for her first Olympic Team.\u00a0 In the 200 IM, she swam in a time of 2:08.92, taking almost an entire second off the previous record, set by Wu Yanyan<\/strong> of China.\u00a0 In the 400, Rice came in at 4:31.46, 1.43 seconds below American Katie Hoff<\/strong>\u2019s mark of 4:32.89.<\/p>\n

As a first-time member of the Australian Olympic Team in 2008, Stephanie Rice proved her place on the team, by winning three gold medals and breaking three world records in Beijing.\u00a0 She received her first-ever Olympic medal, also Australia\u2019s first gold medal of the Games and it\u2019s 400th<\/sup> Summer Olympic medal, when she won the 400-meter IM, becoming the first woman to break 4:30 in the event.\u00a0 Her second gold came in the 200 IM, where she was neck and neck with Kristi Coventry<\/strong> for the last 50 meters, but Stephanie pulled it off at the last second.\u00a0 The 200 IM was followed by the women\u2019s 4 x 200-meter freestyle relay, where she was the lead off swimmer.<\/p>\n

\"Stephanie

Photo Caption: 2008 Gold Medal Relay<\/p><\/div>\n

Stephanie was awarded \u201cFemale Swimmer of the Meet\u201d, alongside Michael Phelps<\/strong>, and on January 26, 2009, she received the prestigious \u201cOrder of Australia Medal.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 2008 Beijing Olympics were probably the high point in Stephanie Rice\u2019s career, but what most didn\u2019t know, there was something taking away from all the glory.\u00a0 Stephanie first started experiencing shoulder pain during the 2008 Games.\u00a0 She competed in the 2009 FINA World Championships (Rome) and came away with two silver in the 200 IM and the 4 x 100 medley relay and one bronze.<\/p>\n

\"Stephanie<\/p>\n

She continued to endure shoulder pain in 2009, but by 2010, it was so bad, she relented to having surgery.\u00a0 This forced her to have to miss out on the 2010 Pan-Pac and Commonwealth Games, which she had already qualified for.<\/p>\n

Stephanie\u2019s surgery was a success and by 2011, she was fully committed to her rehabilitation and training regime and was ready to begin preparations for the 2012 Olympic Games.<\/p>\n

Leading up to the Olympics, Stephanie competed in the 2011 FINA World Champions in Shanghai.\u00a0 She did not medal in the 200 IM, finishing fourth in a time of 2:09.65, but she took bronze in the 400 IM, barely missing silver by 0.01, in a time of 4:34.23.<\/p>\n

Everything was going well for Rice, until December of 2011, when she tore a tendon in her shoulder.\u00a0 Tests showed that Rice needed surgery with a six-month recovery, but with the London Olympics Trials only ten weeks away, that was just not possible.\u00a0 With her doctors and coach, Stephanie decided to have a smaller surgery, that would hopefully hold her over until after the Olympic Games.<\/p>\n

Stephanie performed extremely well at the Trials, considering she had just undergone two surgeries and then a quick training of six weeks to get her ready for the Trials.\u00a0 She won both IM events, the 200 and 400 and qualified for the freestyle relay event.<\/p>\n

\"Stephanie

Stephanie and basketball legend Kobe Bryant; Photo Courtesy: Stephanie Rice<\/p><\/div>\n

There were 12 weeks between the 2012 Australian Trials and the 2012 London Olympic Games.\u00a0 As Stephanie got in the pool to practice, the pain in her shoulder continued to get worse with every stroke.\u00a0 She went from training 60k a week to 30k, and barely making that.\u00a0 She tried making up time out of the water with dryland training to help her stay in shape.\u00a0 And just when Stephanie thought things could not get any worse, she got a terrible bout of food poisoning which kept her off training for three days and took away all her energy.\u00a0 As anyone can imagine, it was an emotionally trying time for Stephanie.<\/p>\n

She headed to London, with three shoulder surgeries behind her and knew that she was not in the shape she hoped for or was close to in Beijing four years earlier.\u00a0 Stephanie Rice left London with a fourth-place finish in the 200 IM and a sixth-place finish in the 400 IM.\u00a0 Based on what she had been able to put in to her training or more like, what she had not been able to put into her training, she was proud of her results and knew she could not have tried harder or done any better, considering all the roadblocks that were thrown her way.<\/p>\n

Stephanie announced her retirement from swimming at the age of 24, in 2014.\u00a0 She went on to compete in and win the Australian TV Show \u201cCelebrity Apprentice\u201d that same year, becoming the youngest winner of the series franchise worldwide.<\/p>\n

Stephanie continued working to make her dreams a reality, this time, just in a different realm.\u00a0 This young entrepreneur co-authored her own book, \u201cThe Art of Wellness;\u201d created three on-line programs in health, mindset and swimming; and launched her first food business, called RACERiCE.\u00a0 She is an ambassador for numerous well-known international brands, such as Vegie Delights and Unichi and is working on business ventures in the United States, China and India.\u00a0 She has also worked with global companies like Fitness First and Khloe Kardashian\u2019s<\/strong> Good American.<\/p>\n

\"Stephanie

Photo Courtesy: Stephanie Rice<\/p><\/div>\n

Stephanie\u2019s passion in life is to share her wealth of knowledge and her insights to positively impact others\u2019 lives and inspire them to be the best they can be.\u00a0 She does this in several ways, such as her mentoring programs, speaking engagements, social media and most recently, her current work in India.\u00a0 Stephanie is stepping back into the world of swimming, and along with her coach, Michael Bohl, planning to build Learn-to-Swim programs all throughout India.\u00a0 In addition, they plan to develop the \u201cStephanie Rice Elite Academy,\u201d with the goal of producing India\u2019s very first Olympic swimming medalist in eight to twelve-years\u2019 time.<\/p>\n

About The International Swimming Hall of Fame\u00a0Induction Weekend<\/a><\/h2>\n

\"International<\/p>\n

The\u00a0International Swimming Hall of Fame (ISHOF) Induction Ceremony is shaping up to be a star-studded weekend with multiple events spread out over three days in beautiful Fort Lauderdale, Florida.\u00a0 Make your plans now to attend the weekend of May 17-19, 2019!\u00a0\u00a0ISHOF Members can purchase the Weekend Package and Save<\/a>!\u00a0 Can’t attend the event? Make a donation to ISHOF<\/a> to support our honorees.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s International Swimming Hall of Fame honorees include\u00a0<\/span>Swimmers:\u00a0<\/span>Jason Lezak <\/b><\/a>(USA), <\/span>Otylia Jedrzejczak <\/b><\/a>(POL),<\/span> Stephanie Rice<\/b> (AUS), <\/span>Britta Steffen<\/b><\/a>\u00a0(GER);\u00a0Diver:<\/span> Li Ting <\/b><\/a>(CHN); Water Polo Player:\u00a0<\/span>Alessandro Campagna <\/b><\/a>(ITA); Coach:\u00a0<\/span>Boris Popov<\/a>\u00a0<\/b>(RUS)<\/span>;\u00a0\u00a0<\/b>Synchronized Swimmer:<\/span>\u00a0Olga Sedakova <\/a><\/b>(RUS);\u00a0<\/span>Open Water Swimmer<\/span>: Marcy MacDonald<\/b><\/a> (USA); Contributor:\u00a0<\/span>Dr. Ferenc Salamon<\/b><\/a> (HUN); and Pioneer<\/span>: Alfred Nakache<\/a><\/b>* (FRA). \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

ISHOF will also present the 2019 Gold Medallion Award to<\/span> Dr. Joseph B. MacInnis <\/a><\/b>(CAN).<\/b><\/p>\n

2019 Paragon Award<\/a> and ISHOF Specialty Award<\/a> Recipients<\/h2>\n