Elka Graham

One of Australia's most talented freestyle swimmers, Graham burst onto the International swimming scene at the 2000 Sydney Olympics where she won a silver medal as a heat swimmer in the 4 x 200m freestyle relay. Graham holds the fifth fastest 400m Australian female freestyle swim of all time and was the 2003 Australian freestyle champion in the 200m and 400m.

Graham was one of the new generation female swimmers that captured the hearts of Australian swimming fans and represented all that encompasses Australian swimming culture.

After her silver medal in Sydney, Graham recorded the fastest 200m freestyle swim of 2001 at the World Championships in Fukuoka.

She continued her good form by claiming a silver and bronze at the 2002 World Short Course championships. She also won silver at the Pan Pacs in both Freestyle Relays.

Graham set a personal best time in claiming silver in the 400m freestyle at the 2002 Manchester Commonwealth Games. Silver in the 4x200m freestyle relay and bronze in the 200m freestyle completed a successful Games.

Graham's world was rocked in 2003 after she was told she might never swim again after being diagnosed with a life threatening heart condition, but her dedication and determination saw her return to swimming as she led Australia to a silver medal in the 4x200m freestyle at the 2003 world championships in Barcelona.

At the Athens Olympics, Graham finished on the cusp of a medal in the 200 and 400m freestyle and was part of the 200m freestyle relay team, which finished fourth.

After undergoing surgery at the start of 2005 to repair a hip injury, which ruled her out of the World Championships, Graham returned to the pool and competed in the 2006 Commonwealth Games Swimming trials, narrowly missing a place on the team.

Having achieved so much in her swimming career, Graham has retired from international competition to pursue a career in the media.

She has been a regular on the Seven Network's top rating breakfast show Sunrise as well as writing for the Sun Herald newspaper in Sydney.

Elka is also an excellent MC and keynote speaker who is in high demand from the corporate sector.

During her presentations, Elka talks candidly about her swimming career highlights, funny moments from her Olympic years and also her experiences from being apart of an elite athletic team. She also talks about her health battles and how she overcame them, the lessons she has learnt from her swimming experiences; the lows she had to get through during her career, and how she will use those experiences in the next phase of her life.