"Enjoyed racing Ian Thorpe more" - Michael Phelps sends admiring note while reflecting on Australian legend’s iconic victory

Michael Phelps shared his admiration for Australia’s Ian Thorpe’s performance at the 1999 Pan Pacific Championships. Thorpe won the 400m freestyle at the Championships with a time of 3:41.83.

Thorpe and Phelps stand as two of the world’s best swimmers. The two faced each other a few times, first competing at the 2002 Pan Pacific Championships in the 4x200m freestyle and 4x100m freestyle relays. The USA took gold in the 4x100m medley relay, while Australia won the 4x200m freestyle relay.

Recently, columnist and reporter Daniel Takata, who covers pool and open water swimming, shared a video on Instagram comparing Ian Thorpe’s 400m freestyle swim from 1999 with Lukas Martens’ performance at the 2025 World Aquatics Championships. This August marked 26 years since Thorpe stunned the world with a 3:41.83 swim at the 1999 Pan Pacs.

Below are excerpts from Takata’s caption:

“This August marks 26 years since a then 16-year-old Australian named Ian Thorpe won the 400m freestyle at the Pan Pacific Championships with a time of 3:41.83. A few days ago, Germany's Lukas Martens won the event with a time of 3:42.35 at the World Aquatics Championships.

"Yes, Thorpe would have won this year's World Championships with a time he set 26 years ago, swimming in swim trunks, and there are still those who say he was a product of the swimsuits he later wore."

Michael Phelps shared this post as an Instagram story and wrote:

“341 in a brief!! Loved watching @ian.thorpe… enjoyed racing him more.”

Screenshot of Instagram story (IG/@m_phelps00)

The current 400m freestyle world record is held by Lukas Martens, set at the Swim Open Stockholm on Saturday, April 12, 2025.

Phelps’s rise compared to Thorpe became evident at the 2003 World Championships. Michael Phelps won the 200m individual medley in 1:56.04, taking 1.9 seconds off his own world record at the meet. Thorpe earned silver with an Australian record 1:59.66.

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"I have the utmost respect for Michael Phelps"- Ian Thorpe on competing against swimming legend

In an interview in June 2020, Ian Thorpe reflected on his rivalry with Michael Phelps. Thorpe expressed deep respect for Phelps, especially admiring his dominance in the individual medley and in freestyle events. He wished their careers had overlapped more to allow for greater competition, saying:

“I have the utmost respect for Michael, what he was doing in [individual] medley, but then when he started doing it in freestyle as well, that was when I really went, wow, he is extraordinary. I wish that, you know, our careers overlapped a little bit more than what they did. ... It’s like, be careful what you wish for, right?” (via Inside with Brett Hawke 47:56 onwards)

Thorpe had intended to compete at the 2008 Beijing Olympics but announced his retirement in 2006. He boasts five Olympic gold medals from two Olympic appearances. Meanwhile, Michael Phelps then took over the sport, retiring in 2016 as the most decorated Olympian ever, with 28 Olympic medals, including 23 golds.