Former Olympic swimmer Scott Miller has been sentenced to more than 5 years in jail for playing a “central role” in a drug supply operation.
Scott Miller : Swimmer | Jailed | Who was married to
Scott Andrew Miller is an Australian convicted drug dealer and former butterfly swimmer who competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics, winning a silver and bronze medal.
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Scott Andrew Miller |
| National team | Australia |
| Born | 21 February 1975 Sydney, New South Wales |
| Height | 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) |
| Weight | 93 kg (205 lb) |
Coached by Barry Prime, the Manly-born swimmer emerged onto the international scene as a 19-year-old at the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Victoria, British Columbia, where he won the 100 m butterfly and the 4×100 m medley relay. In 1995, he became the World Short Course champion in the 200 m butterfly, and established himself as a contender for the 1996 Olympics.
While competing at the Pan Pacific Championships in Atlanta that year, he was jailed for a night after intervening in a fight outside a nightclub. He was later cleared of wrongdoing.
Scott Miller swimmer
At the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Miller was the fastest qualifier for the 100 m butterfly final, setting a new Olympic record of 52.89s in his heat, raising Australian hopes of a first gold at these Olympics.
However, Denis Pankratov, representing Russia, who had reserved a rather controversial technique for the final, had other ideas.
Pankratov employed the “submarine” technique of underwater swimming, which involved diving into the water and dolphin kicking underwater for as long as possible (as swimmers can swim underwater quicker than they can swim at the surface).
At the time, it was illegal for breaststrokers and backstrokers to stay underwater for more than 25 m after the dive, but this did not apply to butterfly. Because Pankratov glided underwater for 35 m and surfaced well clear, reaching the 50 m mark with a lead of roughly 1 m.
Despite Miller’s determined run home, he touched in 52.53 s to claim the silver medal, 0.36 s behind Pankratov, who broke the nine-year-old world record in 52.27 s.
Also after the race, Australian head coach Don Talbot was full of praise for Miller’s efforts – “I haven’t seen a swimmer come back as hard as Miller did. I’ve got to hand it to him.”
Miller also claimed a second medal; he combined with Michael Klim, Steven Dewick and Phil Rogers to claim bronze in the 4×100 m medley relay.
Scott Miller jailed
Former Olympic swimmer Scott Miller has been sentenced to more than five years in jail for playing a “central role” in a drug supply operation.
Miller, 47, was sentenced in the NSW District Court alongside two accomplices, Wayne Allan Johnson, 49 and Justin Szabolics, 47, who also pleaded guilty to several charges including supplying methamphetamine and heroin and participating in a criminal group.
In January 2021, the District Court heard Miller had a secret compartment in a Toyota Camry that he used to transport methamphetamine, hidden in eight white candles.
Hidden cameras installed in the car by police tracked Miller and Johnson on a trip from Balmain to Yass, where they handed the drugs and the car over to Szabolics and another man who has already been sentenced.
The pair were arrested after speeding away from a random roadside police stop, and dumping the bag of drugs behind a tree near the Hume Highway.
A search warrant of Miller’s home in Rozelle in February 2021 uncovered commercial quantities of heroin in a bag in his wardrobe, several mobile phones and more than $72,000 in proceeds of crime which was stashed in a bag and hidden inside a locked safe.
Who was married to
The court was previously told Miller blamed himself for the death of his ex-wife Charlotte Dawson, who was a popular television personality and model.
Charlotte Dawson was a New Zealand–Australian television personality.
Also she was known in New Zealand for her roles as host of Getaway, and in Australia as a host on The Contender Australia and as a judge on Australia’s Next Top Model.
But in 2014, her death by suicide attracted Australasian-wide news coverage.
Charlotte expressed regrets about having an abortion. Also she said her depression began from the time of the abortion.