Ian Thorpe (Australia)

The "Thorpedo" won five gold medals, three in Sydney and two more in the Athens 2004 Games, including winning the gruelling 400m freestyle race twice.

A formidably built swimmer who also won three silver and one bronze medal, Thorpe took a sabbatical away from swimming after Athens, with a view to returning for the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.

But he was forced to withdraw from that event due to illness and later retired at the age of 24 citing a lack of motivation. He then returned in a doomed attempt to make the team for London.

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