Alison Sheppard

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Alison Sheppard MBE (born November 5, 1972 in Glasgow) is a freestyle swimmer from Scotland, who competed in five consequentive Summer Olympics for Great Britain, starting in 1988. She was one of Britain's leading freestyle sprint swimmers for almost two decades, prior to her retirement early in 2005.

Born in Scotland, Sheppard learned to swim at the Milngavie and Bearsden club and first emerged as a potential future medal winner at the age of fifteen, when she was selected for the British team for the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. She swam in five Olympic meetings—a record in itself—although it was not until ten years after her Seoul appearance that she won the first of the sixteen medals she gained in Commonwealth, European and World Championships, when taking the silver medal in the 50 m Freestyle during the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur.

Building upon that success in 1999, she won bronze in the European SC Championships in the 4x50 m Freestyle event and also finished third in the World Championships 50 m Individual Freestyle, again in short course (25 m). It wasn't only over the short course that Sheppard was challenging for honours as she finished third in the European Championships freestyle over the longer course and again finished third in the 4x100 metres Freestyle long course in the European Championships.

In 2000, more bronze medals followed in the 2000 FINA Short Course World Championships in Moscow in the individual freestyle event and also in the 4x100 metres relay. Sheppard also reached the final of her favoured event in the 2000 Summer Olympics, finishing seventh. She was part of the British 4x100 m Freestyle Relay Team, that broke the national record in finishing fifth in the event. The following year the relay squad won the silver in the 4x100 m Freestyle at the 2001 World Aquatics Championships.

In the 2002 Manchester Commonwealth Games Alison Sheppard won the 50 m Freestyle and was 3rd in the 50 m butterfly. She was world ranked #1 in the 50 m freestyle in 2002 with a time of :24.72.