Australian swimming

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Swimming in Australia

Swimming is a very common and popular sport in Australia. A lot of Australians learn to swim from a young age out of necessity due to Australia's love of the beach and the large quantity of backyard pools. Many swimmers go on to continue to swim competitively by training through squads and attending weekend competitions. Successful Australian swimmers such as Samantha Riley began their swimming careers through a learn to swim program. Learn to swim programs are also often offered through primary schools at local swimming pools during school times. The success of Australian Swimming is measurable through Australian international dominance in the sport. Athletes such as Grant Hackett, Ian Thorpe, Leisel Jones and Libby Lenton are all a credit to the extensive development programs in the sport. This is a further achievement because of Australia's small population in comparison to other swimming dominant nations such as the USA.

Famous Australian swimmers: Ian James Thorpe

Ian James Thorpe was born on the13th of October 1982 in Sydney, New South Wales, also known as the Thorpedo or Thorpey. Ian Thorpe is a former Australian freestyle swimmer. He has won five Olympic gold medals, the most won by any Australian, and in 2001 he became the first person to win six gold medals in one World Championship. In total, Thorpe has won eleven World Championship golds, the second-highest number of any swimmer. Thorpe is the only person to have been named World Swimmer of the Year four times by Swimming World Magazine, and was the Australian swimmer of the year from 1999 to 2003.