Grant Hackett facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Grant Hackett
OAM

Personal information
Born	(1980-05-09) 9 May 1980 (age 45) Southport, Queensland, Australia
Height	197 cm (6 ft 6 in)
Weight	96 kg (212 lb)
Sport
Sport	Swimming
Strokes	Freestyle
Club	Miami Swimming Club, Gold Coast Canoe, Melbourne Vicentre
Medal record Men's swimming Representing Australia Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games 3 3 1 World Championships (LC) 10 6 3 World Championships (SC) 7 0 1 Pan Pacific Championships 9 4 0 Commonwealth Games 5 3 0 Goodwill Games 2 1 0 Olympic Games Gold 2000 Sydney 1500 m freestyle Gold 2000 Sydney 4×200 m freestyle Gold 2004 Athens 1500 m freestyle Silver 2004 Athens 400 m freestyle Silver 2004 Athens 4×200 m freestyle Silver 2008 Beijing 1500 m freestyle Bronze 2008 Beijing 4×200 m freestyle World Championships (LC) Gold 1998 Perth 1500 m freestyle Gold 1998 Perth 4×200 m freestyle Gold 2001 Fukuoka 1500 m freestyle Gold 2001 Fukuoka 4×200 m freestyle Gold 2003 Barcelona 800 m freestyle Gold 2003 Barcelona 1500 m freestyle Gold 2003 Barcelona 4×200 m freestyle Gold 2005 Montreal 400 m freestyle Gold 2005 Montreal 800 m freestyle Gold 2005 Montreal 1500 m freestyle Silver 1998 Perth 400 m freestyle Silver 2001 Fukuoka 400 m freestyle Silver 2001 Fukuoka 800 m freestyle Silver 2003 Barcelona 400 m freestyle Silver 2005 Montreal 200 m freestyle Silver 2007 Melbourne 400 m freestyle Bronze 2003 Barcelona 200 m freestyle Bronze 2005 Montreal 4×200 m freestyle Bronze 2015 Kazan 4×200 m freestyle World Championships (SC) Gold 1997 Gothenburg 1500 m freestyle Gold 1997 Gothenburg 4×200 m freestyle Gold 1999 Hong Kong 400 m freestyle Gold 1999 Hong Kong 1500m freestyle Gold 2002 Moscow 400 m freestyle Gold 2002 Moscow 1500 m freestyle Gold 2002 Moscow 4×200 m freestyle Bronze 1997 Gothenburg 400 m freestyle Goodwill Games Gold 2001 Brisbane 200 m freestyle Gold 2001 Brisbane 1500 m freestyle Silver 2001 Brisbane 400 m freestyle Pan Pacific Championships Gold 1997 Fukuoka 400 m freestyle Gold 1997 Fukuoka 800 m freestyle Gold 1997 Fukuoka 1500 m freestyle Gold 1999 Sydney 1500 m freestyle Gold 1999 Sydney 4×200 m freestyle Gold 2002 Yokohama 800 m freestyle Gold 2002 Yokohama 1500 m freestyle Gold 2002 Yokohama 4×100 m freestyle Gold 2002 Yokohama 4×200 m freestyle Silver 1997 Fukuoka 4×200 m freestyle Silver 1999 Sydney 400 m freestyle Silver 2002 Yokohama 400 m freestyle Silver 2002 Yokohama 200 m freestyle Commonwealth Games Gold 1998 Kla Lumpur 1500 m freestyle Gold 1998 Kla Lumpur 4×200 m freestyle Gold 2002 Manchester 1500 m freestyle Gold 2002 Manchester 4×100 m freestyle Gold 2002 Manchester 4×200 m freestyle Silver 1998 Kla Lumpur 400 m freestyle Silver 2002 Manchester 200 m freestyle Silver 2002 Manchester 400 m freestyle

Grant George Hackett (born May 9, 1980) is a famous Australian swimmer. He is best known for winning the 1500 metres freestyle race at two Olympic Games. He won gold in Sydney in 2000 and again in Athens in 2004. Many people consider him one of the greatest long-distance swimmers ever.

Grant also earned a gold medal in Sydney as part of the 4 × 200 m freestyle relay team. He was known for being good at many different swimming distances. He held world records in the 200 m, 800 m, and 1500 m freestyle events. Grant was unbeatable in the 1500 m event for ten years, from 1996 until 2007. Overall, he won 10 gold medals at World Championships.

Grant was the captain of the Australian swimming team from 2005 until he retired in 2008. After swimming, he worked in media and business. He is currently the Chief Executive Officer of Generation Life.

Early Life and Family

Grant Hackett was born in Southport, Queensland, Australia. His father was a police officer. His older brother was a champion in Surf Lifesaving. Grant's mother, Margaret, was told she might not have more children after his brother was born. But then she became pregnant with Grant. He went to Merrimac State High School.

Swimming Achievements

Grant Hackett first became well-known at the 1997 Pan Pacific Championships. There, he won the 1500 metres freestyle race. He also won the 400 m freestyle, beating Ian Thorpe in that race for the first time internationally.

1998 World Championships Success

At the 1998 World Championships, Grant won the 1500 m again. He came in second to Ian Thorpe in the 400 m race. He also teamed up with Thorpe, Michael Klim, and Daniel Kowalski. They won the 4 × 200 m freestyle relay. This started a six-year winning streak against the United States in that event.

Grant repeated these great results at the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur. From 1997 to 2007, he was undefeated in the 1500 m race. He won it at every major world competition. This included the World Championships, Pan Pacific Championships, Olympics, Commonwealth, and Australian Championships.

In 1999, Grant broke his first world record. He surprisingly broke the 200 m freestyle world record. This happened while he was swimming the first part of his club's relay team race. Later that year, Ian Thorpe broke this record. Grant also won the 1500 m freestyle. He joined Thorpe, Klim, and Bill Kirby to break the world record in the 4 × 200 m freestyle relay.

2000 Sydney Olympics

Olympic medal record
Representing  Australia
2000 Sydney – Men's Swimming
Gold	4 × 200 m freestyle relay	7 min 07.05 s (WR)
Gold	1500 m freestyle	14 min 48.33 s

At the 2000 Sydney Olympics, Grant was expected to win the 1500 m freestyle. He was also supposed to help Ian Thorpe in the 200 m and 400 m races. However, he was not feeling his best due to an illness. He finished eighth and seventh in those events. He also swam slowly in the 4 × 200 m freestyle relay heats. Because of this, he was not chosen for the final relay team.

When the 1500 m freestyle final came, Grant had qualified third. The crowd was cheering loudly for Kieren Perkins. Despite the pressure, Grant started the race very fast. He managed to hold on and win the gold medal.

2001 World Championships

At the 2001 World Championships in Fukuoka, Grant was swimming at his fastest. He set new personal best times in the 200 m, 400 m, 800 m, and 1500 m freestyle events. He finished second to Thorpe in both the 400 m and 800 m. He even broke the 800 m world record in that race.

With Thorpe, Klim, and Kirby, they broke the world record in the 4 × 200 m freestyle relay. In the 1500 m, Grant started strong and stayed well ahead of the old world record. With the crowd cheering, he broke the record by 7 seconds and won gold.

2003 World Championships

At the 2003 World Championships in Barcelona, Grant won five medals. He earned three gold, one silver, and one bronze. This was the first time he won individual medals in the 200, 400, 800, and 1500 freestyle events at a major international meet.

2004 Athens Olympics

Olympic medal record
Representing  Australia
2004 Athens – Men's Swimming
Silver	400 m freestyle	3 min 43.36 s
Silver	4 × 200 m freestyle relay	7 min 07.46 s
Gold	1500 m freestyle	14 min 43.40 s

Grant Hackett, who is 196 cm (6 feet 5 inches) tall, won the tough 1500 metres race using his amazing strength and stamina. He showed this in Sydney when he won even after being sick. He did it again in Athens, winning despite a lung issue. This happened after he won a silver medal in the 400 m behind Thorpe. He also had a slower performance in the 200 m individual race.

2005 World Championships

In 2005, Grant was chosen as the captain of the Australian swimming team. He led Australia at the World Championships in Montreal, Canada. He won gold medals in the 400 m, 800 m, and 1500 m freestyle. He also won a silver in the 200 m freestyle. He was the first person to win medals in four different distances at a single World Championships.

His win in the 800 m event broke Thorpe's world record. His 1500 m victory made him the first swimmer to win an event four times at a World Championships. He helped the 4 × 200 m team win a bronze medal. He was named FINA's Male Swimmer of the Meet.

In November 2005, Grant announced he would not compete in the 2006 Commonwealth Games. This was because he had minor shoulder surgery. However, he was still allowed to be a non-competing captain. He helped guide the other swimmers before the competition.

2007 World Championships

Grant qualified last in the 400 m event. But he led in the final before slowing down and taking the silver medal. He qualified fifth in the 800 m event but finished seventh. In the 1500 m final, Grant came seventh. This ended his ten-year winning streak in that event.

In December 2007, Grant competed in and won his first national 10 km Open Water race. He just barely beat Ky Hurst. Both qualified for the World Championships in Seville, Spain. However, Grant did not finish in the top 10 in that event. This meant he missed qualifying for the 10 km open water swim at the 2008 Summer Olympics.

At the 2008 Victorian Short Course Swimming Championships, Grant broke his own 800 metres freestyle world record. He lowered the time by almost two seconds to 7:23.42.

2008 Beijing Olympics

Hackett (left) at the Melbourne homecoming parade for 2008 Olympic Team

Grant swam in the 400m and 1500m freestyle races. He also competed in the 4 × 200 m freestyle relay. In the 1500m, he won the silver medal, finishing second to Oussama Mellouli from Tunisia. If he had won, he would have been the first male swimmer to win three Olympic titles in the same event. Grant won the 200m freestyle at the Olympic trials. But he gave his spot in the Olympics for that event to Nicholas Sprenger.

2015 Comeback to World Championships

After six and a half years away from major competitions, Grant started training again. At the Australian Championships, he finished fourth in the 200m freestyle. This qualified him for the 4 × 200 m freestyle relay at the 2015 World Aquatics Championships. He also won a bronze medal in the 400m freestyle.

At the 2015 World Championships in Kazan, he won a bronze medal. This was for swimming in the heats of the 4 × 200 m freestyle relay. It was his first international medal since the 2008 Olympics.

Career Best Times

Grant Hackett set many world records in both short course and long course swimming. His world records in the 1500 metre (long course and short course) and 800 metre short course were very strong. They were the only men's world records that were not broken by the new high-tech swimsuits released in 2008/2009.

Life Outside of Swimming

Hackett in May 2017

Grant Hackett has worked in media, including for the Nine Network. He was a sports presenter for Nine News Melbourne for a time. He also worked as an expert commentator for swimming events on Amazon Prime Video.

Grant has studied a lot, earning degrees in commerce and law, and an MBA. He married Australian singer Candice Alley in 2007. They had twins, a son named Jagger Emilio and a daughter named Charlize Alley, in 2009. They later separated. In 2020, Grant married Sharlene Fletcher. They have a son named Edward and a daughter named Olympia, born in 2023. Grant is also a supporter of mental health awareness.

Awards and Recognition

Grant Hackett has received many honors for his achievements.

• In 2000, he received an Australian Sports Medal.
• In 2001, he received a Centenary Medal and a Medal of the Order of Australia. The Order of Australia medal was for his gold medal win in 2000.
• In 2004, he was given the "Key to the City of Gold Coast".
• In 2005, he was named the Australian Swimmer of the Year. He was also named the World Swimmer of the Year by Swimming World magazine.
• In 2009, he was named one of the Q150 Icons of Queensland. This was for his role as a "sports legend."
• In 2010, he was added to the Sport Australia Hall of Fame.
• In 2014, he was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame.

See also

In Spanish: Grant Hackett para niños

• List of Commonwealth Games medallists in swimming (men)
• List of Olympic medalists in swimming (men)
• World record progression 200 metres freestyle
• World record progression 400 metres freestyle
• World record progression 800 metres freestyle
• World record progression 1500 metres freestyle
• World record progression 4 × 200 metres freestyle relay