Ian Thorpe

Ian James Thorpe (born 13 October 1982) is a retired Australian swimmer who specialized in freestyle, while also competing in backstroke and the individual medley. Widely considered one of the best swimmers of all time, he won five Olympic gold medals, the second most by any Australian behind Emma McKeon. Thorpe achieved three gold and two silver medals at the 2000 Summer Olympics in his hometown of Sydney, making him the most successful athlete at those Games.

Thorpe was raised in the Sydney suburb of Milperra within a sporting family. His father, Ken, was a junior cricketer, while his mother, Margaret, played A-grade netball. Thorpe initially followed his older sister, Christina, into swimming at age five. Although his early swimming was delayed by an allergy to chlorine, he overcame the condition and progressed to captain the New South Wales team for the Australian Primary Schools Championships in 1994.

In 1995, Thorpe began training under coach Doug Frost alongside his sister. At age 14 years and 5 months, he became the youngest male ever selected to represent Australia in swimming. He went on to win the 400-meter freestyle at the 1998 World Championships in Perth, becoming the youngest-ever individual male World Champion. Later that year, he won four gold medals at the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur.

Between 1999 and 2002, Thorpe set 13 individual long-course world records and five relay world records. At the 1999 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in Sydney, he lowered the 400-meter freestyle world record by nearly two seconds. At the 2001 World Aquatics Championships, he became the first person to win six gold medals at a single World Championship tournament, helping Australia top the medal tally.

At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Thorpe won gold in the 200-meter and 400-meter freestyle events, along with a bronze in the 100-meter freestyle. This made him the only male swimmer to win medals in the 100–200–400 combination at a single Olympic Games. In total, Thorpe won eleven World Championship gold medals, which represents the fifth-highest total achieved by any male swimmer.

Nicknamed "Thorpedo" due to his speed, Thorpe was the first person to be named Swimming World Swimmer of the Year four times. He was named Australian Swimmer of the Year from 1999 to 2003 and Young Australian of the Year in 2000. Citing waning motivation, Thorpe announced his retirement from competitive swimming in November 2006, later making a brief comeback in 2011 and 2012.