Lisa Marie Forrest (born 9 March 1964)[1] is an Australian Commonwealth Games dual gold medalist in swimming. After retiring from competitive swimming she was a sports commentator, actor, reporter, writer,[2] and media personality. Forrest appeared on the television talk show Beauty and the Beast and numerous other television shows, and is a 'celebrity' speaker.[3]
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Lisa Marie Forrest | ||||||||||||||||||||
| National team | Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 9 March 1964 Sydney | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Swimming | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Strokes | Backstroke | ||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Sporting career
Forrest trained with prominent coach Forbes Carlile and later with Terry Gathercole.[4]
Commonwealth Games
- 1978 silver medal, 200 m backstroke, 1978 Commonwealth Games, Edmonton[2]
- 1982 gold medal, 100 m backstroke, 1982 Commonwealth Games, Brisbane[2]
- 1982 gold medal, 200 m backstroke, 1982 Commonwealth Games, Brisbane[2]
Olympic Games
At age 16 Forrest was the captain of the Australian swimming team at the 1980 Summer Olympics.[5]
She was a finalist in the women's 4x100-metre medley relay in Swimming at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow.[1][6]
Writing
Forrest released her first novel, Making The Most Of It, in 2000.[7] A work of fiction, it deals with the sport related problems of eating disorders, drugs, being a sporting celebrity, failure, self-esteem, and relationships. It was added to the recommended reading list for years 7–10 by the NSW Board of Studies.
She continued with fictional works: in 2002 djmAx;[8] and in 2004 Meg Banana, an illustrated novel.[9] In 2008 she published Boycott,[10][11] a factual work of the story behind Australia's involvement in the 1980 Moscow Olympics.[3][12] In 2013 she published Inheritance, another fictional work.[13]
Honours
Forrest received an Australian Sports Medal on 30 July 2000.[14]
In 2001, she was inducted into the Northern Beaches Sporting Hall of Fame.[15]
Personal life
She is married to Jesse Todd and has one son.[5]