Why they rank here
The 'Thorpedo', the finest middle-distance freestyler of his generation and a national hero in Australia. Thorpe won five Olympic gold medals and 11 world-championship titles, dominating the 200m and 400m freestyle and repeatedly lowering the 400m world record toward the 3:40 barrier. At his home Sydney 2000 Games, aged 17, he won the 400m freestyle in world-record time and anchored a stunning relay victory over the United States. At the 2001 Fukuoka World Championships he won six gold medals. Renowned for his size-17 feet, immense reach and metronomic stroke, Thorpe combined precocious success with genuine longevity across two Olympic cycles, and remains, statistically and stylistically, one of the most complete freestylers the sport has produced.
Career profile
Each bar shows how this athlete compares with the strongest in our all-time list for that metric.
Head-to-head
Compare career numbers side by side.