Shelley Taylor-Smith

Shelley Taylor-Smith (born 3 August 1961) is a former Australian long-distance swimmer.

Born in Perth, Western Australia, Taylor-Smith suffered from scoliosis, an abnormal curvature of the spine, throughout her school years. The condition required her to wear a back brace, although she was successful in national age group swimming competitions. While on a swimming scholarship to the University of Arkansas in the United States, the heavy training regime caused a lower-body paralysis. During her recovery, her coach noticed that her swimming improved at greater distances, and encouraged her to take up marathon swimming, a sport which would also allow her to avoid potentially back-damaging "tumble turns". [ [http://www.ausport.gov.au/fulltext/1998/sportsf/sf980605.htm The Competitive Ocean] , "The Sports Factor" (Radio National), 5 June 1998.]

Taylor-Smith's first major achievement was breaking the world four-mile record in 1983. Subsequently, she won the Manhattan Island Marathon Swim five times, breaking the world record in 1995 for swimming the 48km distance in five hours, 45 minutes and 25 seconds. [Blair, Cynthia: [http://www.newsday.com/about/ny-ihiny041105story,0,3191598.htmlstory It Happened In New York] , "Newsday", 14 July 1995.] She also won the Australian Marathon Swimming Championships three times, and seven consecutive FINA Marathon World Cups. She won a gold medal in the inaugural open water swimming event at the 1991 World Aquatics Championships in Perth, and a bronze at the 1994 Championships in Rome. [cite book |last=Clark |first=David |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=ABC Australian Sports Almanac |year=2002 |publisher=Pan Macmillan |location=Sydney |isbn=9781740640565 ]

Her autobiography, "Dangerous When Wet: The Shelley Taylor-Smith Story" (ISBN 1864480750) was published in 1996. [ [http://www.amazon.com/dp/1864480750 Dangerous when wet: The Shelley Taylor-Smith story] , Amazon.com.]

In 1998, Taylor-Smith was diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome after prolonged exposure to polluted water and "Giardia lamblia" infection, and was given six months to live. She nonetheless went on to win her fifth consecutive Manhattan Island marathon, and then retired from swimming.

Taylor-Smith currently lives in Sydney, where she works as a motivational speaker for her company, Champion Mindset.

References

External links

* [http://www.championmindset.com.au/ Champion Mindset] (Shelley Taylor-Smith's motivational speaking company)