Landmark Australian documentary series “Australian Story” is approaching its 30th anniversary in 2026, and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) has announced the star of the premiere episode of the anniversary season — Olympic swimmer and former world record holder Michael Klim.
Klim won six medals across three Olympics, competing in the Australian swim team in the 1996, 2000 and 2004 Olympics, setting a world record on his first night of competition during the Sydney Olympics. He retired from swimming in 2007, and began pursuing different business ventures before receiving a life-changing diagnosis in 2020.
Klim was diagnosed with Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy, a progressive autoimmune disease that attacks the body’s nerve fibres. Symptoms start as small as a cold or numb foot, but eventually sufferers experience muscle wastage and sensory loss — devastating to any person, let alone a professional athlete. To make matters worse, there are currently no therapeutic solutions for the illness, which affects thousands of Australians.
“Six years ago, my identity was taken away and I couldn’t see a future,” he told “Australian Story” from his home in Bali, where he runs a swim school.“The physical degradation is one thing, but the mental issue was probably the biggest hurdle to overcome,” he says.
Klim met his fiancée, Michelle Owen, just before his diagnosis. “I said to her that you’ve got the dud version of Michael Klim. I don’t want you to have to live with this burden.” Together, the pair founded the Klim Foundation, through which they raise awareness and provide support for patients suffering from CIDP.
In the episode, Klim reflects on the challenges in his life post-diagnosis, plus his hopes for a brighter future, saying, “I feel like now I’m no less of a person or even, to be honest, probably a fuller person because of what I’ve been through, I never thought I’d say that.”
Joining Klim in the episode are his partner Michelle, former Olympians Ian Thorpe and Daniel Kowalski, US Olympic champion Gary Hall Jr, and Klim’s parents, sister and children. Titled “Sink or Swim,’ the episode will release on Monday, February 2, on ABC TV and ABC iview.
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