Ian Thorpe

In 1993, an eleven-year-old boy broke 13 records in the New South Wales State School Swimming Championships. Seven years later that same boy won three gold and two silver medals at the Sydney Olympic Games. Ian Thorpe is a household name in Australia and he has risen to international stardom on the sporting stage. As a child, though, Ian showed no promise as a swimmer, with an allergy to chlorine and a weak chest.
Read about early influences and achievements, career highlights and disappointments, training and diet, and ambitions.