Ashley Callus facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Ashley Callus

Personal information
Born	(1979-03-10) 10 March 1979 (age 46) Brisbane, Queensland
Height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Weight	85 kg (187 lb)
Sport
Sport	Swimming
Strokes	Freestyle
Club	Redlands Swimming Club
Medal record Men's swimming Representing  Australia Olympic Games Gold 2000 Sydney 4×100 m freestyle Bronze 2008 Beijing 4×100 m freestyle World Championships (LC) Gold 2001 Fukuoka 4×100 m freestyle Gold 2001 Fukuoka 4×100 m medley World Championships (SC) Gold 2002 Moscow 100 m freestyle Gold 2006 Shanghai 4×100 m medley Silver 2002 Moscow 4×100 m medley Goodwill Games Gold 2001 Brisbane 4×100 m freestyle Silver 2001 Brisbane 100 m freestyle Pan Pacific Championships Gold 2002 Yokohama 4×100 m freestyle Silver 2002 Yokohama 100 m freestyle Commonwealth Games Gold 1998 Kuala Lumpur 4×100 m freestyle Gold 2002 Manchester 4×100 m freestyle Silver 2002 Manchester 100 m freestyle Silver 2006 Melbourne 4×100 m freestyle

Ashley John Callus, born on March 10, 1979, is an Australian former freestyle swimmer. He is famous for winning a gold medal at the Sydney 2000 Olympics in the 4x100 meter freestyle relay.

Ashley grew up in Brisbane, Queensland. He went to Iona College. Early in his career, he learned a lot from other Australian swimmers like Michael Klim and Chris Fydler. At 21, he joined the Australian Olympic team for the first time at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

Winning Gold at the 2000 Olympics

At the Sydney 2000 Olympics, Ashley Callus was part of the 4x100 meter freestyle relay team. The team included Michael Klim, Chris Fydler, and Ian Thorpe. Many people did not expect Australia to win this race. The United States team had always won this event at the Olympics.

However, with a huge crowd cheering them on, the Australian team swam amazingly well. Michael Klim started the race and set a new world record for his part. Chris Fydler kept the lead. Then, Ashley Callus took over, staying ahead of the American swimmer Jason Lezak. Ashley did a great job holding off Lezak, giving Ian Thorpe a small lead for the final leg. Ian Thorpe then swam incredibly fast, just beating Gary Hall Jr. by a tiny bit.

This exciting win earned the Australian team a gold medal! They also set a new world record time of 3 minutes and 13.67 seconds. This was almost two seconds faster than the old record.

World Championships Success

After the Olympics, Ashley continued to swim well. At the 2001 World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, he again helped his team win gold. This was in the 4x100 meter freestyle relay, beating the United States. He also swam in the final for the 100 meter freestyle race.

In 2002, Ashley had a big moment in his career. He won an individual gold medal at the World Short Course Championships in Moscow, Russia. This was for the 100 meter freestyle event.

Challenges at the 2004 Olympics

In 2004, Ashley Callus qualified for the Athens Olympics. He was set to compete in the 50 meter and 100 meter freestyle races, plus the relays. However, at the Olympics, Ashley swam much slower than usual. He did not even make it to the semi-finals for his individual races.

Because of this, he was not chosen to swim in the final of the 4x100 meter freestyle relay. Australia finished sixth in that race. Later, it was found that Ashley had caught the Epstein-Barr virus, which can make you feel very tired. He took a year off from swimming to get better.

Returning to the Pool

Ashley returned to swimming in late 2005, feeling much better. He was chosen to compete in the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne. At these Games, he helped the 4x100 meter freestyle relay team win a silver medal. He also reached the finals of the 50 meter and 100 meter freestyle races.

In April 2006, Ashley won another gold medal for Australia. This was at the 2006 World Short Course Championships in Shanghai, China. He was part of the 4x100 meter medley relay team.

Bronze at the 2008 Olympics

At the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, Ashley Callus was once again part of the Australian 4x100 meter freestyle relay team. This team won a bronze medal. He also competed in the 50 meter freestyle, finishing very close to a medal in fourth place.

After the Beijing Olympics, Ashley said he would not compete in a fourth Olympics.

A Strong Comeback

Even though many thought he had retired, Ashley made a surprising return in 2009. He competed at the Australian trials. He swam very fast in the early races. However, he could not beat younger sprinters like Eamon Sullivan and Matthew Abood in the finals. Ashley joked that he had more free time to swim because of the slow real estate market.

Later, Ashley made an unexpected return to the Australian short course championships. He set a new Australian record in the 50 meter freestyle. On November 26, 2009, he broke Eamon Sullivan's Australian record (which was also a former world record) in the 50 meter freestyle. He swam it in 21.24 seconds in the morning. Then, he broke his own record again in the finals, swimming it in 21.19 seconds. This made him the third fastest swimmer in history at that time.

At the 2010 Telstra Trials, he won the 50 meter freestyle. At the 2010 Pan Pacs, he finished seventh. At the 2010 Commonwealth Games, he was disqualified in the semi-finals. He said it was "bitterly disappointing" because he felt he was in good form. When asked if that was his last swim, he said it was "Definitely in the Commonwealth Games format."

Ashley's Best Times

Here are Ashley Callus's fastest swimming times:

See Also

In Spanish: Ashley Callus para niños

• List of Commonwealth Games medallists in swimming (men)
• List of Olympic medalists in swimming (men)
• World record progression 4 × 100 metres freestyle relay