Trailblazing Olympian Alice Dearing: Burnout, belonging & The Black Swimming Association

Olympian. Marathon swimmer. History-maker.

In this episode of In At The Deep End, Salim sits down with Alice Dearing, the first black woman to represent Team GB in Olympic swimming.

But this conversation goes far beyond medals and Olympic qualification. Alice opens up about the emotional reality of elite sport: the burnout, the self-doubt, the pressure of representation and the strange tension between making history while simply wanting to perform well as an athlete.

Together, Salim and Alice explore:

Alice’s journey from Birmingham swimming clubs to the Tokyo Olympics  Why she nearly walked away from swimming several times  The hidden mental toll of high-performance sport  The myths and stereotypes surrounding black people and swimming  The work of the Black Swimming Association The Soul Cap controversy before Tokyo 2020  Identity, belonging and what it means to represent Britain today  Life after retirement and Alice’s ambitions to shape the future of sport in the UK It’s an honest, thoughtful and timely conversation about water, identity, resilience and breaking down barriers.

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Useful Links

Alice Dearing

Alice's website: http://www.alicedearing.com/ Team GB Profile: https://www.teamgb.com/athlete/alice-dearing/53rk1dw8eJYpYKnylE5rvDThe Black Swimming Association: https://thebsa.co.uk/LinkedIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alice-dearing-oly-5ab64517b/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alicedearingx/Swim with Salim

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