After Years Behind Bars, Australian Olympian Scott Miller Breaks Masters National Record in 50 Fly

In 2022, Australian Olympic swimmer Scott Miller was sentenced to five years in prison for his involvement in a drug syndicate. In 2026, he broke an Australian Masters record in the 50 butterfly.

According to a report published by Tom Decent of the Sydney Morning Herald, Miller was granted parole in June of 2024, having served three years behind bars.

Back in 1996, Miller finished a quarter of a second off an Olympic Gold in the 100 fly. He had not swum in a pool since February of 2004, a date he reportedly remembers clearly.

“I didn’t want to swim. I didn’t like the feeling. It was painful and I used to get really anxious,” Miller said in the report with the Sydney Morning Herald.

About 16 months after his release, Miller finally bought a pair of goggles, hoping to get back into the water.

“To then do it again after so many years and ease that pain, the next time it wasn’t as hard to get to the pool. I wanted to learn why this was so hard for me. I kept confronting it and breaking it down, wanting it to go away, and it did.” Miller said. “The enjoyment of the sport came back slowly over about six months.”

In May of this year, at the Brisbane Aquatic Center, Miller was back to real racing, this time, as a Masters swimmer at the Masters Swimming Australia National Championships.

Competing in the 50 butterfly in Brisbane (SCM), Miller finished 2nd in his heat, only behind a younger competitor in Ashton Baumann, though Miller’s final time of 25.41 demolished the former national Masters record of 26.03 for the men’s 50-54 age group.

Miller admitted in the interview that he was hesitant to even tell people he would get back into the sport, but added that he thinks he could be even faster.

“I didn’t really tell many people about it and didn’t know if I was going to do it,” Miller said. “I thought I’d like to do a 50 butterfly at 50 just to see how fast I could go. I wasn’t doing a lot of swimming, but I was improving. I thought, ‘This is weird, I wonder how fast I could swim?’ I definitely know I can swim a lot faster.”

The entire meet process, which was once familiar to the Olympic medalist, also felt brand new again.

“Just the whole experience and warming up and putting on your ‘jammers’ [was new again]. I forgot how tight they were.” in the report with the Sydney Morning Herald.

Miller’s life in prison was, in his words, the hardest thing I’ve done in my life for sure”. But he is optimistic that the sport that once helped him build a life can be something he enjoys once again.

“I don’t think I’m going to put swimming down. I’m enjoying it. I’m just going to keep going.”