Striking Gold

She was our international sporting hero, but she’s also faced illness, weight issues and low self esteem. Now with a new business venture, marriage and becoming a grandmother, life is finally going swimmingly for lisa curry.

- Paul Ewart

Confident, courageous and funny – with a career as one of Australia’s most talented sporting stars under her belt – Lisa Curry has reached great heights. But in the 28 years since she last competed on the world stage there have been some incredible highs and lows – from gold medals to health woes, marriage and babies, then divorce and most recently reinvention as a successful businesswoman. Now she’s gearing up for her impending nupitals to professional entertainer and Elvis Presley tribute artist Mark Tabone, and the pair are about to embark on an exciting new entrepreneurial venture. But as the spotlight turns to Queensland for the 2018 Commonwealth Games, it’s a chance to reflect on the 35 years since Lisa carried the Australian flag in the 1982 closing ceremony following three gold medal wins.

“The Games were massive – both for Brisbane, and for me,” says the 55-year-old, speaking from the sprawling Sunshine Coast property she shares with Mark. “A standout for me was winning my first gold medal and looking up into the stands and seeing my coach – who was a very quiet man – and he just looked down and nodded his head at me with a big smile on his face. I had lunch with the Queen and got to carry the flag while completely hungover! I still had my makeup on from the night before. “It was one of the best things

I ever did. It put me on a different journey in my life.”

The road to success

 First spotted in the pool at age 10, even back then Lisa was one of the fastest swimmers in the world for her age. Representing the country 16 times from 1977 to 1992, she remains the only Australian swimmer to have held Commonwealth and Australian records in every stroke except backstroke. She was ranked consistently as one of the top 25 swimmers in the world.