Ian Thorpe

full name:

Ian James Thorpe

bio:

One of the greatest swimmers the world has ever seen. In his career, he won five Olympic gold medals, 11 world titles and set 13 long-course records and 23 overall. On November 21 2006 he announced his retirement from swimming after 10 years on the Australian team, citing that he has lost the desire, and "there are things in my life that are more important to me and I have to pursue them now".

also known as:

the Thorpedo, Flipper, Thorpey

born:

13 October 1982
Milperra, a western suburb of Sydney, Australia

family:

Parents Margaret and Ken, sister Christina.

physical attributes:

Height: 195 cm (6'5")
Weight:104 kg (229 lbs)
Feet Size: 17
Armspan: 195 cm

sport:

Swimming

coach:

Tracey Menzies since 2002-06.
Pre 2002 his coach was Doug Frost.

team / club:

SLC Aquadot / New South Wales / Australia

event:

100 meters, 200 meters, 400 meters, 800 meters freestyle, 100m backstroke, 200m individual medley, plus anything else he wants to do!

personal bests:

200m: 1:45.51 minutes, 400m: 3:41.33 minutes

achievements:

• World Championships, Perth (1998), won 400m freestyle
  
• Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur 1998: 4 Gold medals (200m free, 400m free, 2x200m freestyle relay, 4x100m freestyle relay
• Pacific Championships 1999: New world record, 400m freestyle, broke world record for the 200m freestyle twice in consecutive days
• Australian Olympic Swim Trials 2000: bettered own 400m freestyle mark, lowered the 200m freestyle world record twice again
• Sydney Olympic Results, 2000
  • 200 metre freestyle (1 min 45.83 secs), 2nd
    
  • 400 metre freestyle (3 mins 40.59 secs), 1st
    
  • 4 x 100 metre freestyle relay (3 mins 13.67 secs), 1st
    
  • 4 x 200 metre freestyle relay (7 mins 7.05 secs), 1st
    
  • 4 x 100 metre medley relay (3 mins 35.27 secs), 2nd
    
• Athens Olympics Results, 2004:
  • 400m freestyle, 1st, 3:43.10
    
  • 4 x 100m freestyle relay, 6th, 48.14 (3:15.77)
    
  • 200m freestyle, 1st, 1:44.71 (Olympic record)
    
  • 4 x 200m freestyle relay, 2nd, 1:44.18 (7:07.46)
    
  • 100m freestyle, 3rd, 48.56
    

what you may not know:

• Thorpe started squad training when he was just 8 years old. He was allergic to cholorine when he first started but has now grown out of that.
• He holds the record for being the fastest 14-year old male swimmer in the history of swimming.
• In 1997, at age 14 he was selected for the Australian team for the Fukuoka Pan Pacific Championships, becoming the youngest male to represent Australia in swimming.
• With his win in the 400 m in Perth 1998 he was youngest ever world champion (at 15 years).
• Ian suffered a broken bone in his ankle in 1999.
• Thorpe received a bonus of $25,000 for setting the first world record in the Sydney Olympic pool in 1999. He donated the money to children's cancer research and a youth crisis program, in honour of a childhood friend who had suffered non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
• In 2000 he was named Young Australian of the Year.
• He controversially was disqualified for false starting at the 2004 Olympic swimming trials, only later to be given a place when third placed Craig Stevens pulled out to give Ian a place in the event in Athens, which he went on to win.
• He enjoys going to the movies, surfing and computer games.