‘It sucks the life out of everybody around you; it is pure evil’

OLYMPIC gold medal swimmer Alicia Coutts remembers her first ever swimming carnival. It was the day her beloved dad died.

A young Alicia at the beach. Picture: Supplied.

I WAS six months old when my dad was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Being so young and seeing my dad go through his fight with cancer was hard to really understand.

He passed away on the day of my first ever swimming carnival. I was just seven years old.

My mum said I wasn’t going and I said to her, “But I have to go, I have to swim for my dad”. So I went — my grandparents took me.

I won every race I entered that day and I’ve been swimming for my dad ever since. I said to my grandfather after I finished all my races, “Do you think my dad was watching me?”

He said my oath he was.

My dad fought so hard to live and see his kids grow up. What he had to go through to try and survive, and to be with us, anyone who has to go through that experience is a really tough person and inspiring in themselves.

He was less than 40kg when he passed away; he was so frail. To watch that was heartbreaking and absolutely devastating to witness. It is something you never get over.

A young Alicia at the beach. Picture: Supplied.

Unless you go through cancer yourself, or with a family member or close friend I don’t think you can comprehend what the battle and the fight really is.

Before he passed, dad told me he knew I’d go to the Olympics one day, and I always strived to do that. He always believed I had the talent and the drive to be a great swimmer.

I constantly draw on that as inspiration, knowing my dad would be proud of what I’ve achieved, and what I still hope to achieve, in and out of the pool. Everything I’ve ever done, I’ve done it for my dad.

Alicia (left) with fellow relay champions Cate Campbell, Brittany Elmslie and Melanie Schlanger with their gold medals at the London Olympics. Picture: Barbara Walton

I’ve managed to go to two Olympics and even though he’s not here with me he’s always with me in spirit. I feel like he’s always been my guardian angel.

There are many things I wish he could have been there for. Last year it was hard; not having him there to walk me down the aisle at my wedding, it was really tough. There are so many milestones I wish I could have shared with him.

I think we would all love to discover a cure for cancer — no matter whether or not we’ve been personally affected by the disease. Cancer is something that nobody should ever have to go through, or watch happen to somebody else. It sucks the life out of you. It sucks the life out of everybody around you; it is pure evil.

Alicia with her dad Gary and family. Picture: Supplied

Raising awareness about cancer is so important so we can continue to gain a better understanding of what it truly is. I don’t think it’s very well known that one third of

cancers can be prevented by a healthy lifestyle.

I was actually unaware of this statistic until I came on board as an ambassador for Cancer Council’s The March Charge. I think it’s so important to get this message out to everyone so they can give themselves the best chance and help reduce their own risk of a cancer diagnosis.

The March Charge is about encouraging everyone, no matter what their fitness level, to get healthy. We’re asking people to run, ride or swim as many kilometres as they can throughout the month of March to help combat the 37,000 cancer cases that could be avoided in Australia every year.

The March Charge helps to raise awareness about cancer and vital funds to beat the disease and if I can play a part in supporting and promoting that, while also encouraging Australians to lead healthy and active lifestyles, it’s something I want to be a part of.

Alicia Coutts and her husband Steve Hardy. Picture: Stephen Archer

This year I’ll be retiring from competitive swimming. After recently getting married, my husband and I are really looking forward to the next chapter of our lives, and to be honest I have been wanting kids for a while now and I’m looking forward to starting a family.

In the meantime I am currently giving my training everything I have in the lead up to

our Olympic trials. I want to know I gave it all I have and to finish my career on a high

For more information on The March Charge or to register visit:

www.themarchcharge.com.au.