Susie O’Neill affectionately known as “Madame Butterfly” won 8 Olympic medals, including 2 Gold. She is an icon of the pool and a much-loved Australian identity.

Susie’s determination and work-ethic saw her rise to become one of Australia’s most successful ever swimmers. Dubbed ‘Madame Butterfly’ for her peerless quality in the discipline, Susie held a record 35 Australian titles, 16 Commonwealth Games medals (11 gold), 18 long and short course World Championships medals and eight Olympic medals in total. Susie was unrivalled in her success, never coming home without a medal from any international competition, a stretch that lasted from 1990 to 2000.

Following the 2000 Sydney Olympics, Susie retired from swimming and continued her career in the International Olympic Committee. In 2005 she resigned from the IOC to spend more time at home with her young family. She then began her broadcasting career soon after, commentating at the 2006 Commonwealth Games for the ABC, and in 2016 she joined the Nova Brisbane Breakfast program, Ash, Kip, Luttsy & Susie.

Always a champion of the people, O’Neill is revered not only by her feats in the pool, but also her charity work, humility and down-to-earth nature.

Susie has collected many honours and awards along the way. Key achievements include 1998 Australia Sport Awards Female Athlete of the Year, Australian Sports Medal for “her significant contribution as a competitor in swimming” in 2000, Centenary Medal for “service to the community through health” in 2001, inducted into Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 2002, elevated to Sport Australia Hall of Fame’s 34^th Legend of Australian Sport in 2012 and appointed Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for “significant service to swimming at the elite level, as a mentor and role model, and to the community through support of charitable organisations”.