Information checked: November 6, 2026, 9:09 a.m. UTC (UTC+00:00).
Australian Olympic champion Stephanie Rice says she is putting her full-time job search on hold after applying for more than 130 roles over roughly eight months. The former swimmer, who now also uses the surname Lassey, says she is directing her energy toward a faith-inspired prayer board business through at least the end of 2026.
The searches follow Rice’s social media accounts of repeated setbacks and a subsequent emotional update. In her latest update, reported on November 6, she said her first week concentrating on the business had brought encouraging developments. She did not provide enough detail to independently assess the venture’s commercial progress.
Destaques
Rice recently described a long search for corporate work in videos shared on social media. According to her account, five hiring processes reached the final interview stage, but the employers chose other candidates. The numbers are her own account, not independently verified hiring records, and do not establish that every application resulted in a formal rejection.
She said the latest unsuccessful application prompted her to reconsider her direction. Rice explained that she had prayed about whether to continue looking for a full-time job and interpreted the outcome through her Christian faith. She described the decision to step back as emotional, while also expressing hope about the next phase.
The account helps explain the search interest: it connects a well-known Australian athlete’s life after elite sport with a specific, relatable problem—an extended job hunt that has not produced the result she expected. There is no verified evidence in the available reporting that one employer or one incident explains the entire search.
Rice has said she took a director position and was subsequently offered a promotion to CEO, but resigned before beginning the chief executive role. She attributed the decision to her faith and said she expected to find another opportunity quickly.
That distinction matters. Her description is that she left a role and did not begin the CEO job; it should not be read as a claim that she was dismissed as CEO. The company’s identity, the terms of the prospective appointment, and employers’ reasons for choosing other candidates have not been established in the available accounts.
A lengthy search can involve different roles, employers, and hiring criteria. Rice’s public comments explain her experience and interpretation, but they do not establish whether any particular qualification, career history, or other factor caused the outcomes. Claims that employers rejected her specifically because she was an Olympian would go beyond the evidence.
Rice says she is developing a prayer board product that would bring together materials for a creative, faith-based activity. She has described the idea as combining her interest in stationery and crafts with her Christian faith, and says she plans to give it her full attention for at least the rest of 2026.
In the more recent update, she said that dedicating a week to the idea had brought more encouraging opportunities and support than she had experienced during the preceding months of her search. That is her assessment of the change. Publicly available details do not establish sales, revenue, a confirmed shipping date, or whether the product will be available in Australia.
For anyone following the venture, the practical details to watch are an announced product, price, ordering arrangements, and delivery markets. Until Rice or the business confirms them, those details remain open questions.
Rice is best known for winning three gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics: the 200-meter and 400-meter individual medleys and the 4-by-200-meter freestyle relay. The Australian Olympic Committee’s athlete profile records those victories and her appearance at the 2012 London Games. She retired from competitive swimming in 2014.
Her career since competition has included independent business and other professional projects. In a 2024 interview, Rice discussed living in Dubai and working with a swimming organization. More recently, she has described moving into corporate employment and then searching for another role. The current update concerns that later working life, not a return to competitive swimming.
Rice’s stated plan is to concentrate on bringing the prayer board idea to life through the end of the year. Whether it becomes a sustainable business, when customers can buy it, and whether she later resumes a corporate job search remain to be seen. Her encouraging first update is a snapshot of her experience, not a verified forecast of the project’s outcome.
Rice says she applied for more than 130 positions over roughly eight months and reached the final stage of five interview processes.
She has not announced a return to competitive swimming in connection with this update. Her stated focus is a prayer board business.
Rice married pastor Mark Lassey in 2025 and has used the surname Lassey. She remains widely known by her swimming-era name, Stephanie Rice.
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