Ian Thorpe

Ian James Thorpe was born on October 13, 1982 in Sydney in Australia. Although he followed his sister into the pool Ian did not compete until the age of seven due to a chlorine allergy. Gradually he managed to overcome this obstacle and became an extraordinary successful swimmer at High School training under Doug Frost.

At the age of 13 he won his first national titles at the Australian Age Championships. The national championships in 1996 were the test for what came a year later. One year older Thorpe broke the 4 minute mark and became the youngest Australian swimmer to make a national team. At the Pan Pacific Championships he got second lowering his personal best to 3:49.64 and won another silver medal with the 4x200m freestyle relay.

In 1998 he finally got in the spotlight winning gold over the 400m freestyle and with the 4x200m freestyle relay at the World Championships on home soil in Perth (AUS). The World Record with the 4x200m relay and 4 gold medals in total at the Commonwealth Games were followed by the first individual World Record over 200m freestyle a year later at the World Short Course Championships in Hong Kong. Some more titles at the Pan Pacs in 1999 combined with 3 more World Records gave the world an impression of what should follow a year later.

The pressure on the still just 17 year-old Thorpe was enormous when the Olympic Games in Sydney started in September 2000. But he delivered and won his favourite event the 400m freestyle in 3:40.59 breaking his own World Record. He furthermore won another two gold medals as part of the freestyle relays and two silvers over 200m freestyle and 4x100m medley relay.

In 2001 at the World Championships in Fukuoka Ian Thorpe was at his best winning six gold medals. In the individual events Thorpe destroyed the existing World Records and set new marks that survived till the latest versions of high tech suits appeared.

What followed were more titles but hardly any new best times. His relationship with coach Frost also got worse and as a result Thorpe switched to Tracey Menzies. Although he was very much criticised for this decision Thorpe continued to win titles. In Barcelona at the World Championships 2003 he won both 200m and 400m freestyle and added a third title by winning with the 4x200m freestyle relay team.

The Olympic Games in Athens 2004 got surprisingly interesting even before they had begun. Due to a curious false start over 400m freestyle at the Australian trials he did not earn a spot for his favourite event. However, his team mate Craig Stevens gave in and offered Thorpe his spot. At what turned out to be his last big competition Thorpe fought hard and won twice. The 200m were the race between three giants Thorpe won ahead of Pieter van den Hoogenband and the new star Michael Phelps. Over 400m he successfully defended his title from 4 years ago. Two more medals made him Australia's most successful Olympic athlete. In 2006 he attempted to come back but was handicapped by injuries and illnesses. That and a lack of motivation resulted in his retirement in November 2006 at the age of 25.

Ian Thorpe will be remembered for his big feet, his revolutionary technique and also for his full body suite. He has broken 22 world records, has won five gold medals at Olympic Games and has won 11 World Championship titles. After his career he spent a lot of time on raising money for children. He has been named World Swimmer of the year in 1998, 1999, 2001 and 2002. In Australia Ian Thorpe is still a very famous and popular person and respected not only for his achievements in sports but especially for his social commitment. He was also awarded the Order of Australia.

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