Susie Maroney

Susie Maroney (born 15 November 1974, Cronulla, New South Wales), is an Australian marathon swimmer. She was four (4) years old when she started swimming.

She and her twin brother, Sean (or Shaun), claim to be born with cerebral palsy. They initially kept their condition secret out of fear of ridicule but in 2007 she sold her story to the TV talk show Enough Rope.

By the time she was seven years old she was competing in swimming carnivals. Before that she only competed in short distance events. After turning 13 years old she came to realise that she could do long swims. After failing to graduate from high school she pursued her vocation.

She was first recognised as a long-distance swimmer in 1989 when she achieved third place in the Australian Marathon Swimming Championship for Women, aged 14.

In 1990 she became the first person to swim from Manly, New South Wales to Darling Harbour and back again in seven hours. That same year she also broke the speed record for swimming the English Channel, with the help of her mentor Des Renford. She is also the youngest Australian to swim the Channel.

Notoriety

In 1989, 1990 and 1991, Maroney was awarded the Advance Australia Award. In 1991 she was awarded the Channel 10 Young Achievers Sport Award and in 1993 the Order of Australia Medal. She also received the Outstanding Achievement Award from the New South Wales Government in 1997; the same year she was inducted into the International Hall of Fame for her accomplishments. In 1996 she was awarded the Victorian Young Achiever of the Year, by the Asthma Foundation. She worked with the Handicapped Children’s Centre of New South Wales and represented Australia as an Ambassador in the 1996 Olympics.

In 1999 she received a good behaviour bond after pleading guilty to driving with a blood alcohol reading of .135 (almost 3 times above the legal limit) [http://www.newspix.com.au/Packages/ViewImage.aspx?id=80498] .

Since her early retirement from swimming she has occasionally worked part-time as a swim teacher. But a significant amount of her income has been generated from selling personal stories to the media, to the point of being dubbed a "professional drama queen" by current affairs program Today Tonight.

Achievements

* Three time winner of the Manhattan Island swim race in years 1991, 1992 and 1994.
* Fastest female two way English Channel Crossing (England/France/England)in 1991 at age 17 in time of 17 h 14 mins.
* At age 22, the first person to swim the 180km (112 mile) Florida Straits from Cuba to the United States (12 May 1997).
* Swam a record 197 km (122 mile) from Mexico to Cuba, covering the longest distance ever swum without flippers in open sea, in 38 hours and 33 minutes (1 June 1998).
* Completed 160km swim from Jamaica to Cuba (15 September 1999).

References

External links

* [http://www.nesher.com.au/rett/susie/susie.html nesher.com.au: Susie]
* [http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/06/10/1022982817981.html "Swim star's twin killed in party fall", by Jacquelin Magnay, 11 June 2002, The Age]
* [http://www.nycswim.org/UserBio.aspx?UserID=3342 Manhattan Island Foundation, bio]
* [http://www.ausport.gov.au/fulltext/1998/sportsf/sf980605.htm "The Competitive Ocean", ABC Radio National, The Sports Factor, 5 June 1998]
* [http://www.huonvalley.tas.gov.au/site/page.cfm?u=403 "Australia Day Awards 2005 Guest Speaker", Huon Valley Council]