Ian James Thorpe, on the 13th of October 1982 in Sydney, Australia.
Ian is the youngest of two children to father Ken, a gardener, and Margaret, a teacher. His sister is Christina, who is older by three years.
The Thorpes were a sports loving family - Ken plays cricket for his local club, and his sister Christina took an interest in swimming at an early age. Ian was interested in many sports as a child, including cricket - which Ken had hoped that his son would take up! Thankfully, it was not be, as Christina’s love of competitive swimming drew him to the pool when he was eight years old. Originally tagging along to watch his sister compete, Ian got bored and decided to give it a go himself. There was one slight problem though – Ian was allergic to chlorine! This allergy could have easily been the downfall of a future swimming superstar, but Ian managed to overcome it by wearing a nose plug and swimming with his head out of water. Using this technique, Ian won his first race – and a swimming legend was born.
EARLY CAREER
Ian initially trained with his sister, but at the age of 12 he joined coach
Doug Frost who pushed for a new training regime – twice daily, six days a week.
The harder Ian pushed himself, the greater he improved – and the results quickly
showed. At the age of 13, he went to the National Junior Championships and won
every event, in every discipline, and over all distances! He repeated the
process the following year, breaking several national and state records along
the way.
COMPETITION
Ian was ready to swim against competitors above his age group, and soon won ten gold medals while breaking eight state records at the New Couth Wales Short Course Titles. This success at 14, fuelled his selection as the youngest male swimmer ever selected in the Australian National team in the 1997 Pan Pacific Championships in Japan, where he won two silver medals. This was only the beginning of his string of successes since, including participating in two Commonwealth games - for a total of ten gold medals and one silver - and the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, where he won three gold medals and one silver for Australia. Over his career, he has broken an unbelievable 13 individual world long course records, been a member of five world record-breaking relay teams and won countless more medals.
FUTURE
Under the new guidance of coach Tracy Menzies, the “Thorpedo” is a strong contender to be part of the Australian Olympic Swimming team in Athens 2004. But can Ian defend his worldwide swimming champion crown from US up-and-comer Michael Phelps? Only time will tell!
OUT OF THE POOL
After seeing a close friend, Michael, battle with cancer at an early age, Ian started his own charity ‘Fountains for Youth’ that raises money to support a number of worthy causes at both in Australia and abroad. He’s also quite fashion conscious – he has modeled on the catwalk for Armani in the past, and even has his own underwear and jewelry ranges!
TRIVIA
Ian has amazingly huge feet, at size 17! No wonder he has earned the nickname ‘Flipper’
Thorpe is also a keen surfer, and is always looking to improve his skills at his local break every chance he can get
QUOTES
“I am my toughest competitor; I don’t concern myself with what other people’s performances are, because I can’t change them, I have no control over them. I focus on myself and worry about my own performances.”
“When I looked up at the finish, I wasn’t sure whether the scoreboard was right. I just couldn’t believe it.”
“One of the most important things is to not get a big head over your successes.”