Swim star Stephanie Rice to concentrate on business venture after Celebrity Apprentice victory
VICTORY on Celebrity Apprentice sees Stephanie Rice put her swimming career on hold for business.
STEPHANIE Rice has put off deciding about her swimming future until the end of the year after winning Celebrity Apprentice Australia.
Instead , Rice, the Olympic champion will concentrate on her Freestyle kids' swimwear business venture for the remainder of 2013.
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Rice beat out athlete John Steffensen, boxer Jeff Fenech and socialite Roxy Jacenko to win the Channel 9 reality show.
Stephanie Rice and Roxy Jacenko show their claws on Celebrity Apprentice
Pictures: Stephanie Rice's Olympic Journey
The 25-year-old credits host Mark Bouris for giving her the confidence to keep pursuing her business dream.
"I went into the show to learn and see if I was capable of doing something in the business world," Rice says.
"To have someone like Mark support that journey of mine and know that I am capable, made me feel like I've got something ahead of me whether it's swimming or not.
"I have the opportunity to go back to swimming and it is something I would really love to do but I pretty much want to get my company off the ground first which will happen at the end of the year.
"Then I will decide whether swimming is something I am really passionate about.
"I have achieved the pinnacle of my sporting career so to go back I really have to refocus and find a new goal of something I want to achieve.
"That is what I am weighing up at the moment - all the different decisions."
Pictures: Stephanie Rice loves to Tweet
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In the Celebrity Apprentice final Rice, Steffensen, Fenech and Jacenko returned to Don Bosco House - a home for young people in need.
The quartet had to each choose a representative from Father Chris Riley's Youth Off the Streets and were tasked with leaving a lasting legacy in their lives.
Rice battled tears throughout the series, especially when she was slammed by swim legend Dawn Fraser.
Fraser accused Rice of being disrespectful.
"There were obviously confrontations and a lot of tears," Rice says. "It was upsetting to hear Dawn criticise me and say I had no respect for her.
"Later in the show when she got fired we put all of that behind us and learned to move forward.
"That is pretty much where it sits for Dawn and I.
"Now that I've won it is a really great feeling to know that I've come through a lot of hurdles but managed to get there in the end.
"I've walked away from the show knowing that I can make things happen if I really set my mind to it."
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