At 51, Scott Miller is a convicted drug trafficker, former ice addict and – as of last month – a national swimming record holder. He’s also, he’ll be the first to admit, lucky to be alive.
Scott was in prison for more than three years, and for two decades he couldn’t bring himself to swim a lap. Now he’s training three times a week on Sydney’s northern beaches.
ATLANTA
Three decades ago, Scott was one of Australia’s biggest swimming stars, training alongside Kieren Perkins and Susie O’Neill.
He was crowned Cleo‘s Bachelor of the Year in 1997, was married to television personality Charlotte Dawson, and for a time lived at the Newtown home of his mentor, Alan Jones.
At the 1996 Olympics, he won silver in the 100m butterfly, finishing 26 hundredths of a second behind Russia’s Denis Pankratov – a devastating loss just days after he broke the Olympic record.
He missed Sydney 2000 through injury, which only deepened the pain of Atlanta. By 2004 he couldn’t face a pool.
By 2006 he was on life support in a Manly hospital after an overdose, his life having collapsed into addiction and chaos after his swimming career ended.
He didn’t swim again for 21 years.
PRISON
Scott was arrested in 2021 and later pleaded guilty to drug trafficking offences. He was released on parole in June 2024.
Speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald in his first interview in more than a decade, Scott said adjusting to life after prison was harder than he expected.
“It was harder getting adjusted back into the community than going in,” he said. “I remember being out [for] three months wishing I was back in there.”
Inside, he lost 26 kilograms and completed a degree in building construction management.
BACK IN THE WATER
Last October, Scott returned to the pool for the first time since February 2004, swimming 500 metres at a Manly aquatic centre.
He now trains three times a week with the Warringah Masters Swimming Club on Sydney’s northern beaches.
Last month at the Masters Swimming Australia National Championships in Brisbane, he clocked 25.41 in the men’s 50m butterfly – a national record in his 50–54 age category.
NOW
Scott now cares for his elderly mother and works with Alcohol and Drug Awareness Australia, travelling to Melbourne regularly to speak to young tradies about the consequences of bad decisions.
“I’m not walking around proud as punch,” he told the Herald. “I still feel a lot of shame, but you can’t let it cripple you.”
“I’m enjoying it. I’m just going to keep going.”
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