Swimming · 2000 · Sydney, Australia
The Thorpedo at Home
Australia's 17-year-old swimming prodigy wins the host nation's first gold of the Sydney Olympics, breaking his own world record in the 400m freestyle on his Olympic debut.
3:40.59 (world record)
400m freestyle time
3
Golds, Sydney 2000
17
Age
Ian Thorpe, nicknamed the 'Thorpedo' for his outsized feet and freestyle power, was already a world champion and world record holder heading into his home Olympics in Sydney at just 17 years old, carrying a weight of national expectation few teenage athletes have faced.
He delivered immediately, winning the 400m freestyle on the opening night of swimming in a new world record of 3:40.59, the host nation's first gold medal of the Games. He added a second gold anchoring Australia's 4x100m freestyle relay to a dramatic upset win over the heavily favoured United States team, and a third in the 4x200m freestyle relay.
Thorpe's performance made him the breakout star of the Sydney Games and one of Australia's most recognised athletes for years afterward, a home Olympics delivering exactly the kind of moment the host nation had hoped for from its biggest swimming talent.
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