In At The Deep End

Olympian. Marathon swimmer. History-maker.

In this episode of In At The Deep End, Salim sits down with Alice Dearing, the first black woman to represent Team GB in Olympic swimming.
But this conversation goes far beyond medals and Olympic qualification. Alice opens up about the emotional reality of elite sport: the burnout, the self-doubt, the pressure of representation and the strange tension between making history while simply wanting to perform well as an athlete.

Together, Salim and Alice explore:
  •  Alice’s journey from Birmingham swimming clubs to the Tokyo Olympics 
  •  Why she nearly walked away from swimming several times 
  •  The hidden mental toll of high-performance sport 
  •  The myths and stereotypes surrounding black people and swimming 
  •  The work of the Black Swimming Association
  •  The Soul Cap controversy before Tokyo 2020 
  •  Identity, belonging and what it means to represent Britain today 
  •  Life after retirement and Alice’s ambitions to shape the future of sport in the UK 
It’s an honest, thoughtful and timely conversation about water, identity, resilience and breaking down barriers.
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Useful Links

Alice Dearing
Swim with Salim
Swimming & Open Water

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Produced by The Good Studio - thegoodstudio.co.uk

Creators and Guests

Host
Salim Ahmed
Master Swimmer and swim coach with 22+ years experience
Guest
Alice Dearing
Team GB Olympian. Founder of The Black Swimming Association
Producer
Tim Beynon
Podcast Producer and Founder of The Good Studio

What is In At The Deep End?

Inspring journeys from the pool to the everyday. Hosted by Salim Ahmed, a lifelong swimmer and swim coach with over 22 years experience, the show dives into the human stories behind the sport. Not just times and techniques, but the moments when water became an anchor, a lifeline, or a turning point.

Each episode features honest, intimate conversations with everyday swimmers, Olympians, well-known names and unheard voices, all united by the role swimming has played in their lives. These are stories of resilience and reinvention, of grief and joy, of quiet victories and near-impossible comebacks.

From open-water epiphanies to childhood pool memories, In at the Deep End explores how swimming steadies us, challenges us and carries us through life’s waves.

If you love inspiring stories with depth, this is where you dive in.