Which Australian swimmer did Phelps idolize as a teenager?

As a teenager, Michael Phelps idolized Australian swimmer Ian Thorpe. Thorpe was one of the dominant young stars of international swimming before Phelps became the sport’s leading figure.

Thorpe specialized in freestyle and made history early. He became the youngest male swimmer to represent Australia at age 14, then won the 400-meter freestyle at the 1998 World Championships as a teenager. His success made him a major model for aspiring swimmers worldwide, including Phelps.

The admiration later became part of a famous sporting rivalry. Phelps even chose to focus on the 200-meter freestyle at the 2004 Athens Olympics partly because he wanted to race Thorpe. Thorpe won that final, with Phelps finishing third, while Phelps later established himself as the more versatile Olympic champion.

Their relationship was not simply adversarial. Phelps viewed Thorpe as an inspiration before competing against him, and the two became defining figures of swimming’s early-2000s era. Thorpe’s influence is therefore part of Phelps’s origin story, not merely a footnote to their races.