Inductee - Grant Hackett

Grant Hackett

Grant Hackett

Swimming

Gold Coast-born Grant Hackett OAM is one of Australia's and the world's greatest freestyle swimmers.

Under the guidance of Miami super coach Denis Cotterell, Grant won gold in the 1500m freestyle at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games and the Athens 2004 Olympic Games and set world records in the 1500m and 800m freestyle. He also collected a gold medal in Sydney in the 4x200m freestyle relay.

Grant stands at a towering 196cm and weighed 90kg at the peak of his career. He won his races with a trademark combination of strength, stamina and determination in the face of obstacles such as injuries and ill health. At the Sydney Olympic Games, despite having a virus, Grant swam in the 200m and the 400m before winning the 1500m against the crowd favourite and defending champion Kieren Perkins.

Incredibly at the Athens Olympic Games his gold medal in the 1500m was won with a partially collapsed lung. Undefeated over the 1500m distance from 1997 ana 2006, his overall record rivals that of Perkins and Russian superstar Vladimir Salnikov as the greatest distance freestyler ever.

Grant's achievements at major meets were remarkable, winning the 1500m at the Commonwealth Games in 1998 and 2002 and at the World Championships in 1998, 2001, 2003 and 2005.

His four 1500m World Championship gold medals maae him the only swimmer to have won a world title in the one event four times. Overall he won a remarkable ten World Championship gold medals.

At Pan Pacific meets Grant won the 400m, 800m and 1500m in 1997, the 1500m in 1999 and the 800m and 1500m once again in 2002.

He frequently won medals at international meets on the 4x200 metre freestyle relay team for Australia.

Grant set one world record at 1500m, 14:34.56 in winning the 2001 World Championship in Fukuoka, Japan. That same year he also set the 1500m short course world recora at 14:10.10.

Grant was the captain of the Australian swimming team from the time the role was reintroduced in 2005 until his retirement in 2008.

In April 2007 he married Australian singer Candice Alley; the couple announcing in Maren 2009 that they were expecting twins, Jagger and Charlize.

He has a Diploma of Commerce/Law and a Diploma of Financial Services.

Grant has presented sports news and reports for the Seven and Nine networks and at the time of his induction was working as a banker and undertaking an Executive MBA at Bond University.

Inductees