Libby Trickett surfaced from the pool at the Beijing Olympics, saw the number one next to her name, and waited for the feeling of being enough. It didn't come.

Libby is mum to five children, including baby Archie, who was snuggled on her chest throughout our entire conversation. She opens up about postnatal depression after her first daughter, Poppy, about the Father wound that quietly drove her to the pool every single day, and about the moment she realised that winning gold wasn't going to make her whole. We also explore her passionate advocacy for keeping girls in sport.

We explore:

• The relentlessness of early motherhood, and why admitting it's boring sometimes is actually the most honest thing you can say
• What Libby's postnatal depression cracked open in her - and why she now sees it as one of the most important experiences of her life
• The Beijing gold medal, and the moment Libby realised that winning the thing she'd wanted her whole life, still left a void
• Libby's advocacy work around girls and sport: why participation drops off and what we can do about it
• The only thing that matters in parenting - and why it's not organic food, sleep training, or getting the birth story "right"

What I keep coming back to, sitting with this conversation, is Libby saying: "I was always enough." Seven Olympic medals, world records, five children - and still, that simple truth was the hardest thing to find. What I love about Libby is that she's doing the work. She's right in it. And she's raising five little humans to know their enoughness from the start. To me, that's the most important gold medal of all.

[Recorded Remotely October 2025]

About Libby Trickett:

Libby Trickett is a seven-time Olympic medallist with four gold medals who represented Australia at three consecutive Olympic Games and held world records in the 100m freestyle throughout her career. She is a mental health advocate, author of the memoir Beneath the Surface, and a fierce advocate for keeping girls in sport. She lives with her husband, former swimmer Luke Trickett, and their five children.

Connect with Libby:

• Instagram: @libby_trickett
• Podcast: Play Well series - 8 Eps on Sportish

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