Editing Ian Thorpe (section)

==Early years==
Born in Sydney, Thorpe grew up in the suburb of [[Milperra, New South Wales|Milperra]] and hailed from a sporting family.<ref name="dyk">{{cite news|first=Michael|last=Gleeson|title=Did you know?|url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/sport/did-you-know/2006/11/21/1163871405651.html|newspaper=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]|date=22 November 2006|access-date=22 November 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071025060632/http://www.smh.com.au/news/sport/did-you-know/2006/11/21/1163871405651.html|archive-date=25 October 2007|url-status=live}}</ref> His father Ken was a promising [[cricket]]er at junior level, representing [[Bankstown District Cricket Club]] in [[Sydney Grade Cricket|Sydney's district competition]].<ref name="dyk"/><ref name="smh early">{{cite news|first=Michael|last=Cowley|title=A career that sets the gold standard|url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/sport/a-career-that-sets-the-gold-standard/2006/11/21/1163871405639.html|newspaper=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]|date=22 November 2006|access-date=22 November 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071023080417/http://www.smh.com.au/news/sport/a-career-that-sets-the-gold-standard/2006/11/21/1163871405639.html|archive-date=23 October 2007|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=s17>Swanton, p. 17.</ref> A talented batsman, he once topped the season's [[Batting average (cricket)|batting averages]] ahead of former [[List of Australia national cricket captains|Australian captain]] [[Bob Simpson (cricketer)|Bob Simpson]]. However, paternal pressure detracted from Ken's enjoyment of cricket, and he retired at the age of 26.<ref>Hunter, pp. 4–5.</ref> Thorpe's mother Margaret played A-grade [[netball]],<ref name="smh early"/><ref name="hunter1-6">Hunter, pp. 1–6.</ref> but he did not inherit his parents' ball skills.<ref name=s17/> His elder sister Christina was advised to take up swimming to strengthen a broken wrist, so by chance, the five-year-old Thorpe followed her into the pool.<ref name="smh early"/><ref name=s17/><ref>Hunter, pp. 19, 102.</ref> Due to his unhappy experiences, Ken Thorpe regarded enjoyment as the most critical aspect of his children's participation in sport.<ref name="hunter1-6" /> A large baby, Thorpe weighed {{convert|4.1|kg|lb|abbr=on}} and measured {{convert|59|cm|ftin|abbr=on}} in length at birth.<ref>Hunter, p. 9.</ref>

As a young child, Thorpe was sidelined by an [[allergy]] to [[chlorine]].<ref name="andrews"/> As a result, he did not swim in his first race until a school carnival at the age of seven.<ref>Hunter, p. 20.</ref> The allergy forced Thorpe to swim with his head out of the water; despite this ungainly technique, he won the race, primarily because of his significant size advantage.<ref name="dyk"/><ref>Hunter, pp. 19–22.</ref><ref name=s18>Swanton, p. 18.</ref> Thorpe gradually overcame the ailment and progressed to the captaincy of New South Wales for the Australian Primary Schools Championships in 1994.<ref>Hunter, p. 36.</ref> He subsequently won nine individual gold medals at the New South Wales Short Course Age Championships in September of the same year.<ref>Hunter, pp. 36–39.</ref> In 1995, Thorpe started his secondary education at [[East Hills Boys Technology High School]]<ref name="dyk"/><ref>Hunter, p. 44.</ref> and switched coaches to swim alongside his sister under the tutelage of [[Doug Frost (swimming coach)|Doug Frost]].<ref name=s18/> It was a busy year for the family; Christina was selected for the Australian team to compete at the [[1995 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships]] in Atlanta.<ref>Hunter, p. 48.</ref> Now six feet tall, Ian competed at his first Australian Age Championships, winning bronze medals in the 200&nbsp;m and 400&nbsp;m freestyle. He won all ten events at the New South Wales Age Championships.<ref name="andrews"/><ref>Talbot, pp. 302, 224–225.</ref><ref>Hunter, pp. 46–49.</ref>

===National competition===
Thorpe competed at the 1996 Australian Age Championships in Brisbane, winning five gold, two silver and two bronze medals.<ref name="abc career"/> His times in the 400&nbsp;m freestyle and 200&nbsp;m [[backstroke]] qualified him for the Australian Championships,<ref name=h96/> which doubled as selection trials for the [[1996 Summer Olympics|1996 Atlanta Olympics]]. Frost knew that Thorpe had no realistic chance of making the top two in any event, which would have meant Olympic selection at only 13 years and six months. He sent Thorpe to Sydney merely to gain competition experience at senior national level.<ref name=h96/> As expected, Thorpe missed selection; he finished 23rd in the 400&nbsp;m freestyle and 36th in the 200&nbsp;m backstroke.<ref name="h96">Hunter, pp. 65–70.</ref> At the end of the year, Thorpe qualified for the Australian Short Course Championships. It was another chance to gain national selection, as the event served as the selection trials for the [[1997 FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m)|1997 FINA World Swimming Championships]]. Thorpe qualified in second place in the heats of the 400&nbsp;m individual medley and reached his first national final.<ref name=h97/> However, he swam more slowly in the final and missed selection.<ref name="h97"/>

At the New South Wales Championships in January 1997, Thorpe's time of 3&nbsp;min 59.43&nbsp;s in the 400&nbsp;m was eight seconds faster than his previous personal best;<ref name=h97/> it made him the first 14-year-old to cover the distance in less than four minutes on Australian soil. Ranked fourth for the event countrywide,<ref name="h97">Hunter, pp. 72–73.</ref> Thorpe went into the Australian Championships in [[Adelaide]] as a serious contender for selection in the national team for the [[1997 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships]] in [[Fukuoka]], Japan. With a top-three finish and a specific qualifying time required for selection, Thorpe focused on the 400&nbsp;m freestyle after injuries to world record holder [[Kieren Perkins]] and [[Daniel Kowalski]]; both had won Olympic medals in the event. Thorpe went on to win bronze behind 16-year-old Queenslander [[Grant Hackett]], setting a new personal best of 3&nbsp;min 53.44&nbsp;s.<ref name=h97p/> The time was a world record for his age group and the race was the first of many battles with Hackett.<ref name="h97p"/>

Aged 14 years and 5 months, Thorpe became the 463rd<ref>{{cite web|title=Australian Swimmer Numbers|url=http://www.swimming.org.au/swimmer-nos.html|publisher=[[Swimming Australia]]|access-date=14 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150206124840/http://www.swimming.org.au/swimmer-nos.html|archive-date=6 February 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> and youngest ever male to be selected for the Australian team,<ref name="andrews"/><ref name=s18/> surpassing [[John Konrads]]' record by one month.<ref name="ABC profile">{{cite news|title=Ian Thorpe: On course to sink Athens opposition|url=http://abc.net.au/olympics/2004/profiles/ianthorpe.htm|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|year=2004|access-date=14 November 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604000134/http://www.abc.net.au/olympics/2004/profiles/ianthorpe.htm|archive-date=4 June 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> Frost said that Thorpe's selection catalysed his eventual focus on freestyle. Thorpe continued his good form at the Australian Age Championships. He contested all twelve events, winning ten individual gold and two bronze medals.<ref>Hunter, pp. 75–76.</ref> He set six Australian records in the process.<ref name="smh early"/><ref name="h97p">Hunter, pp. 73–76.</ref>