Michael Klim was simply one of the greatest all-round sprinters ever produced in Australia – note, we didn’t say by Australia. He learned his sport in a surprising place. He was a multiple world champion and world record holder in freestyle and butterfly, long and short-course. As a bonus, Klim provided us with something priceless: an Iconic Image; a good old Aussie underdog-sticks-it-up-‘em moment.

Speaking of the impending, much-anticipated 4X100 race against the Aussies in Sydney 2000, the great American swimmer, Gary Hall Jr had said he’d like to “smash them like guitars” (the comment was slightly re-contextualised for the sake of a headline). The Yanks had never been beaten in the event. They owned it. After the Aussies took it from them, Klim, who’d gone out first and broken the world 100m freestyle record, was first to respond – with a conspicuous, snarling display of air guitar. This kid who never even spoke English until he was 11 became an instant “typical” Aussie hero. That night, he became “Klimmy.”        

What are you doing right now, Klimmy?

Life revolves around my primary business which is Milk & Co. My passion will always be sport. I still swim and train a bit. I’m involved with a company called Chosen. We combine health and fitness, mindfulness and activities. I have a swim school, Klimswim, in Richmond in Melbourne and do some corporate health and wellness and keynote.

So this Milk & Co is skin care – for Australian men. Haha! How’s that going? 

Yeah it’s focused on the Aussie male. There are so many from tradies to execs, who are conscious of their appearance, not just their health, so they can be the best they can be, whether for picking up chicks or making an impression in a meeting.

How did you get into that?

Accidentally. Near the end of my swimming career I’d been approached by two different skincare companies to do a bit of promotional work. Having a shaved head I’ve always had a lot of skin exposed. Being a swimmer, you’re always exposed to UV rays, chlorine. You’re constantly walking around smelling like a pool. We always had to look after our skin. Around 2006-07 there was a boom in skincare, but I felt there wasn’t anything for guys developed by another guy. It sort of encapsulates what I’m about. We all live busy lives and try and do the best we can for nutrition, exercise, skincare, so without complicating it I just wanted to create a product guys could relate to and find easy to use, and easy to buy. We launched in August ’08.

Swimming produces amazing stories. In a nutshell, what’s yours?

I’m a son to Polish parents, and emigrated to Australia when I was 11. I lived in five different countries before the age of eight – India, Canada, Germany, Poland. Eventually we ended up in Australia. Dad was looking for some great opportunities. My sister was a really good tennis player so he was looking for a place where we could develop our sporting skills. Australia was the only place I felt I could walk into a swimming club and fit straight in. Later, I felt there wasn’t enough infrastructure in Victoria so I jumped in the car and went to train and live at the AIS. But I learned to swim in India, which isn’t renowned for swimming.

Australia must have been tough for an 11-year-old migrant kid.  

It was but I was well-travelled. As a kid, you always want to fit in, but I tended to gravitate toward my swimming fraternity. I tended to go on swimming camps instead of school camps. I was still learning my English and – yeah, I had a few tough initiations in the old swimming club environment. I didn’t know how to sing the national anthem very well and I was selected against New Zealand once, and the older guys in the club made me sing the anthem. Every time I made a mistake, they’d hang me up by my bathers in the change rooms on the hooks and make me sing it again until I got it right.  Those things toughen you up a bit. I was chasing them up and down the pool, and eventually I probably overtook them. I think I had the last laugh.

Your time at the AIS must have been an amazing period for a young tearaway.

My parents made the tough decision to let me move out of home and I went straight into an environment where it was all about excellence. I didn’t know how to use the resources – the best coaches in the world; I got to train with Alexander Popov, but for the first year I was probably busy chasing the netballers around the facility. It took me a while to find my feet and utilise coaches, biomechanists, dieticians etc. Over 30 percent of the Olympics team from 2000 came from the one building. I was very fortunate.

Your AUS coach, Gennadi Touretski, has been called many things: troubled genius, erratic…what’s your take on him?

Being the son of a Russian general, he broke out of his mould. He had a strict regimen, but he had a creative side and was very knowledgeable. He was a great coach because he could tap into you personally and find out the best way of getting a result, rather than a cookie-cutter approach. I moved out of home at 16 so he became my adopted dad really. He got me to my first world records in the 100 fly and 100 free and the gold medals in Sydney. I’m indebted to him.

I know it’s impossible to compare, but is there anyone, over all distances, all disciplines, all eras, who stood out for you? 

I’ve trained with some of the greatest. Popov, Hackett, Thorpe, van den Hoogenband. One person who made it look easy was Ian Thorpe. He was such a gifted athlete. He took everything on board and had great technique. He was strong, he did times in training that most people couldn’t do in racing. I also saw Popov go sub-22 seconds in training a number of times. Hackett was the same. Crazy guys doing unbelievable swims. These are my mates, so they raised the bar pretty high!

Hard to believe it’s 16 years since Sydney. You and the relay team really set the tone for all of us, and gave us one of our most enduring sporting memories. Do you look back on that fondly now? 

The Americans had never been beaten. All four were in the world top ten. I was our highest-ranked at number three. I just felt that if we threw them off their game in the first lap, they’d be working harder to get over the top of the wave. We got the touching right every single time. It was a relay to remember. The air guitar was just spontaneous. I think when Gary Hall said they’d smash us like guitars, we stored it in the memory bank.

Seventeen-thousand people, the whole building was rattling. Thorpie won gold an hour before and comes out and gets over the top of Gary Hall. It was just – you couldn’t write a better script! Every single person stayed for the medal ceremony, sang the anthem – we got a standing ovation walking into the dining hall which was as big as the MCG. Even walking through the mixed media zone and the public –  we just had this adulation from the people. As you get older you realise what you accomplished and it was a pretty special day.

You told me once you swam better in relays, because you felt close to the team and more relaxed. What’s more gratifying for you? Individual gold in world championships? Relay gold in Olympic Games?

There was something I was able to do in relays that I wasn’t able to do in individual events. In relays, you’re playing a part. It was more about the process. I think in individual events I focussed too much on the outcome. I think I was more adventurous in relays. I put more on the line. All my best splits were in relay situations. It’s gratifying. You’re sharing it with mates, and we had the reunion of the 4X100 team in Adelaide, and we kind of pat ourselves on the back. Sixteen years on, we don’t look too bad!

Is there anything during your career that you regret?

I wish I’d won gold in the individual fly in Sydney. I was seven metres away and started fading. I swam a very good 75 metres. I was kind of on a revenge year in 2001 after losing in Sydney, and I broke my ankle playing basketball. It kind of derailed me. I could say I wish I didn’t play basketball that day, but that was also the reason why I was good at swimming. I was athletic and that was my strength. On the other hand, it cost me a long time out of the pool, and many injuries followed. I probably should have stayed within myself a bit more.

Would you have done anything differently against Van den Hoogenband and Frölander in Sydney?

Maybe I’d have kept myself in check a little bit after that 4X100 win. The nervous energy was so high, and that was the start of a very long campaign for me. I probably should have worked at conserving energy for the whole week.  But hindsight’s a wonderful thing. 

Who do you rate as our best chances in Rio?

I’m confident of our team. It’s a really good crop. They’ve had a bit of experience now. They had great potential three of four years ago and now some have won world championships and been ranked number one. So they’re used to the limelight. But the whole landscape’s changed. There’s a lot more depth; a lot more competition from other countries. For example, the French are unbelievable at the moment. The Asian countries have picked up a lot. The medals are so evenly spread. But our team are young, driven individuals.

I guess you’ll be as fascinated by the Campbell sisters as anyone. But what about the men? How do you reckon they should go?

McEvoy, Chalmers – the fastest-ever 17-year-old on the planet – we’ve got Mitch Larkin, Houghton. They’re really strong, and you’ve got the older statesmen like James Magnussen. We’re on the right track. The team’s looking really good. It would be good if we can get the 100 free. Michael Wenden was the last to win that. It would be great to have an Aussie on the podium for that.

You dabble in coaching. Do you want to play a part in the future of Australian swimming?

I’ve been working with some of the elites, the team and the leadership group. I travelled to Glasgow recently for the Worlds. Just being around some of the youngsters, talking about preparation or technical things or working with the relay squad – that’s what I enjoy. Coaching, you have to devote yourself, and I’ve got a few things going on. But I’m still passionate about the sport and try to get involved. I’ll always love it.

Published in Inside Sport, June 2016