[3] Having been advised as a child to begin swimming to combat asthma[citation needed], the Brisbane schoolgirl broke into the Australian team for the 1991 World Championships in Perth, Western Australia, winning a silver medal in the medley relay.

[citation needed] The following year, Riley won a bronze medal in the 100-metre breaststroke at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, as well as competing in the 200-metre event.

[4] Riley tested positive at the world short course championships in Rio de Janeiro,[5][6] and was only exonerated after her coach Volkers admitted to giving her a headache tablet which contained the banned substance.

[citation needed] Riley told a news conference the drug was contained in headache medication she took by accident.

At one stage during the mid-1990s, Riley was engaged to Norwegian Olympic champion speedskater Johann Olav Koss.