The Thorpedo — five Olympic gold medals and size-17 feet that produced the most efficient freestyle stroke.
Ian James Thorpe was born in Paddington, New South Wales in 1982. He wears a size 17 shoe — his extraordinary foot size and ankle flexibility produce exceptional propulsion through the water. He won five Olympic gold medals across Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004. He was the dominant freestyle swimmer of the early 2000s, winning 11 World Championship titles. He was provisionally suspended in 2006 following a missed out-of-competition drug test — cleared of wrongdoing. He publicly came out as gay in 2014. He suffered from depression and addiction during and after his career, discussing both publicly.
Dominant freestyle swimmer, world records in 200m and 400m freestyle
How They Played
Powerful freestyle technique with exceptional stroke length
Lasting Impact
One of Australia's greatest swimmers, known as 'Thorpedo'
Olympic Gold 5x (2000:3, 2004:2)
Career Honours
- Olympic Gold 5x (2000:3, 2004:2)
- World Champion 11x
- Australian of Year 2001