Keri-Anne PAYNE

Born to British parents in Johannesburg, Keri-Anne Payne lived in South Africa until the age of 13. She made an impressive entrance to the international scene by winning the 400 m freestyle at the 2004 European Short Course Championships in the week of her 17th birthday. Although she has competed in freestyle and medley between 200 and 1500 metres, it is in the open water events that she has flourished. She placed 11th in the first World Championships in 2007, but improved her times considerably in the run-in to the Beijing Olympics and it was no great surprise that she took the silver medal at the event’s Olympic début. Payne then won the 10 km open water at both the 2009 and 2011 World Aquatics Championships and was voted the FINA Open Water Swimmer of the Year in both years. She also won a bronze medal in the 400 m individual medley at the 2010 Commonwealth Games. At the 2012 Olympics she finished 4th in the 10 km open water race, being edged out of a medal by jut 4/10ths of a second. She took a year out from the sport in 2014, but returned the following year in the hope of qualifying for the Rio Olympics which she did. However, in her third Olympics she could only finish seventh. Keri-Anne married fellow Olympic swimmer David Carry in 2012. She announced her retirement in January 2017.