From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Michael Klim

Personal information
Full name	Michael Klim
Nationality	Australia
Date of birth	13 August 1977 (1977-08-13) (age 32)
Place of birth	Gdynia, Poland
Height	1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Medal record Men's swimming Competitor for  Australia Olympic Games Gold 2000 Sydney[1] 4×100 m freestyle Gold 2000 Sydney 4×200 m freestyle Silver 2000 Sydney 100 m butterfly Silver 2000 Sydney 4×100 m medley Silver 2004 Athens[2] 4×200 m freestyle Bronze 1996 Atlanta 4×100 m medley World Championships (LC) Gold 1998 Perth 100 m butterfly Gold 1998 Perth 200 m freestyle Gold 1998 Perth 4×200 m freestyle Gold 1998 Perth 4×100 m medley Gold 2001 Fukuoka 4×100 m freestyle Gold 2001 Fukuoka 4×200 m freestyle Gold 2007 Melbourne[3] 4×100 m medley Silver 1998 Perth 100 m freestyle Silver 1998 Perth 4×100 m freestyle Bronze 1998 Perth 50 m freestyle Bronze 2005 Montreal[4] 4×100 m freestyle Goodwill Games Gold 2001 Brisbane 100 m freestyle Gold 2001 Brisbane 100 m butterfly Gold 2001 Brisbane 4×100 m freestyle Silver 2001 Brisbane 50 m butterfly World Championships (SC) Gold 1995 Rio de Janeiro 4×200 m freestyle Silver 1995 Rio de Janeiro 4×100 m freestyle Silver 1995 Rio de Janeiro 4×100 m medley Gold 1997 Gothenburg 4×100 m medley Gold 1997 Gothenburg 4×200 m freestyle Bronze 1997 Gothenburg 4×100 m freestyle Bronze 1997 Gothenburg 100 m butterfly Bronze 1997 Gothenburg 100 m freestyle Gold 1999 Hong Kong 4×100 m freestyle Gold 1999 Hong Kong 4×100 m medley Silver 1999 Hong Kong 100 m freestyle Silver 1999 Hong Kong 200 m freestyle Silver 1999 Hong Kong 100 m butterfly Commonwealth Games Gold 1998 Kuala Lumpur 100m Freestyle Gold 1998 Kuala Lumpur 4x100 m freestyle Gold 1998 Kuala Lumpur 4x200 m freestyle Gold 1998 Kuala Lumpur 4x100 m medley Silver 1998 Kuala Lumpur 200 m freestyle Bronze 1998 Kuala Lumpur 50 m freestyle Bronze 1998 Kuala Lumpur 100 m butterfly Gold 2006 Melbourne 4x100 m medley Silver 2006 Melbourne 4x100 m freestyle Silver 2006 Melbourne 100 m butterfly Bronze 2006 Melbourne 50 m butterfly Pan Pacific Championships Gold 1997 Fukuoka 100 m freestyle Gold 1997 Fukuoka 200 m freestyle Gold 1999 Sydney 100 m freestyle Gold 1999 Sydney 100 m butterfly Gold 1999 Sydney 4×100 m freestyle Gold 1999 Sydney 4×200 m freestyle Silver 1997 Fukuoka 100 m butterfly Silver 1997 Fukuoka 4×100 m medley Silver 1997 Fukuoka 4×100 m freestyle Silver 1997 Fukuoka 4×200 m freestyle Silver 1999 Sydney 200 m freestyle

Michael Klim OAM (born August 13, 1977) is a Polish-born Australian swimmer. He was born in Gdynia. He was educated at the University High School, Melbourne and Wesley College, Melbourne.

Personal life

Klim married Lindy Rama, a former model and fashion entrepreneur, in April 2006. Rama (known in Bali as Anak Agung] is a Balinese princess, being the niece of Ida Cokorde Pamecutan XI, the king of Denpasar.^[5] The couple have two children, Rama (born 2006) and Rocco (2008).^[6][7]

Career

Klim was first selected to represent Australia in the Commonwealth Games in Victoria, Canada in 1994, while still a student at Wesley College, Melbourne. In 1996, he arrived at the Atlanta Olympics ranked first in the world for the 200 m freestyle, but was surprisingly eliminated in the heats. He rebounded to qualify for a finals position in the 100 m butterfly, and swam the freestyle leg in the 4×100 m medley relay, in which Australia claimed a bronze medal.

1996 Atlanta Olympic Games

Klim made his Olympic debut in Atlanta. Although competing in 5 events, the 19 year old Klim did not race medal times

1998 World Championships

1998 was Michael Klim's year in the sun. In January, the World Championships were held in Perth, and in front of a boisterous home crowd, he was the leading swimmer of the meet. He triumphed in the 200 m freestyle and the 100 m butterfly, and added silver in the 100 m freestyle, and bronze in the 50 m freestyle. He was a member of each of Australia's three relay teams, winning gold in the 4×200 m freestyle relay and 4×100 m medley relay, and a silver in the 4×100 m freestyle relay. For his achievements he was named the Male Swimmer of the Year by Swimming World Magazine.

In 1999, he set a world record in the 100 m butterfly, in a FINA sanctioned time trial (51.81 s). It was broken at the 2003 World Championships in Barcelona by the Ukrainian Andriy Serdinov in the first semifinal of the 100 m butterfly, and then broken another time in the next semifinal by Michael Phelps.

2000 Sydney Summer Olympic Games

In 2000, at the Sydney Olympics, Klim set a world record (48.18) leading off the 4×100 m freestyle relay, which paved the way for a world record (3:13.67). Three days later, he was part of the 4×200 m freestyle relay, which set another world record (7:07.05), which left the opposition over 5 seconds in arrears on its way to victory. He entered the 100 m freestyle as the world record holder, but his feats in the relay left him fatigued, coming home in 4th place, behind Dutchman Pieter van den Hoogenband, who claimed the world record (47.84) in a semifinal. Again in the 100 m butterfly, he was the world record holder, but was cut down in the closing stages by Sweden's Lars Frölander, finishing second. He also claimed silver as part of the 4×100 m medley relay team.

2001 World Championships

In 2001, hampered by an ankle injury, Klim was restricted to relay duties, and contributed to another world record, winning gold in the 4×200 m relay (7:04.66). He also collected a gold medal in the 4×100 m freestyle relay.

2002-2003

In 2002 and 2003, due to chronic back and shoulder problems, Klim missed the 2002 Commonwealth games and Pan Pacs, he also missed the 2003 World championships.

2004 Athens Summer Olympic Games

In 2004, at the Athens Olympics, he returned to relay duties, competing in 3 events, collecting a silver in the 4×200 m relay.

2005 World Championships

In 2005, he swam at the World Championships in Montreal, in the 100 m freestyle, returning to individual action, but failed to progress past the semifinals. He won bronze as part of the 4×100 m freestyle relay.

2007 World Championships

In 2007, he swam as part of the B team in the Men's 4 x 100 metre medley relay, in the final the Australian team

Retirement

On the 26th June 2007 Klim retired as a world champion, something very few athletes do. It was considered a smart move by many considering he finished the year ranked 94 in the 100 freestyle with the Olympics 14 months away

See also

• World record progression 100 metres freestyle
• World record progression 100 metres butterfly

External links

References

Records
Preceded by Alexander Popov	Men's 100 metre freestyle world record holder (long course) 16 September 2000–19 September 2000	Succeeded by Pieter van den Hoogenband
Preceded by Denis Pankratov	Men's 100 metre butterfly world record holder (long course) 9 October 1997 – 25 July 2003	Succeeded by Andriy Serdinov
Preceded by Denis Pankratov	Men's 100 metre butterfly world record holder (short course) 22 January 1998 – 14 December 1998	Succeeded by James Hickman
Preceded by James Hickman	Men's 100 metre butterfly world record holder (short course) 2 September 1999 – 16 March 2000	Succeeded by Lars Frölander
Awards
Preceded by Denis Pankratov	World Swimmer of the Year 1997	Succeeded by Ian Thorpe
Preceded by Danyon Loader	World Pacific Rim Swimmer of the Year 1996	Succeeded by Ian Thorpe