Lesley Hewitt
Who can forget the excitement of the 2000 Sydney Olympics when Michael Klim, Ian Thorpe, Chris Fydler and Ashley Callus took out the Men’s 4x 100m freestyle relay for Australia overpowering the previously undefeated American team and then celebrated poolside by playing air guitars, a reference to American Gary Hall Jnr’s pre-race boast that the US team would “smash the Australians like guitars”? Klim, who was the leadoff swimmer, took 0.03 seconds off the world record held previously by Alex Popov.
Klim has recently released his memoir, Klim, the subject of September’s 2nd Thursday Book Review on Hepburn Radio. Readers interested in swimming will want to read about Klim’s swimming career and achievements in the pool. Those who have no interest in swimming as a sport might have minimal interest but will still find something in this book.
Klim was 11 years old when his family migrated to Australia. He had already lived in Poland, India (where he learnt to swim), Germany and Canada. He was an overweight boy with a foreign accent and lisp, and earned the nickname “Lumpy” from his schoolmates. With no familiarity or understanding of Australian cultural mores, swimming gave him a sense of identity, acceptance, structure and belonging. The issues he faced as a new migrant would be familiar to any new immigrants. Klim retired from swimming in 2007 having broken 8 world records, won 6 Olympic medals in addition to numerous others in international competition. He then became a successful entrepreneur, establishing a skin care company with his former wife Lindy Rama. He writes that his drive and focus on the business meant that he was less focused on his marriage and family life. Like many he believed that being a good financial provider for his family met his responsibilities. His marriage broke-down.
In 2020, he developed a debilitating neurological disease: Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy (CIDP), an autoimmune disease of the peripheral nervous system that is characterised by progressive weakness and impaired sensory function in the legs and arms. Imagine the impact on someone whose identity has always been bound up in their physical prowess. Klim’s memoir talks openly and honestly about his resulting mental health struggles, the impact on his partner, his children and his extended family, and the challenge he faced to deal with this. It’s a challenge that many people will be familiar with – when something happens that overturns our sense who and what we are. And then how we deal with that and what helps us deal with that? As Klim himself says in the last paragraph of his book, “So am I at peace with myself? I have my good days…and bad days. It’s a work in progress, but I’ve always had a strong work ethic. Life’s a journey and mine still has a long way to go.”
This is a book that describes a celebrated Australian swimmer’s challenges as a young immigrant, an elite swimmer, a family man and business entrepreneur, who then faces major health issues. It offers inspiration for more than those of us interested in swimming as a sport.
Klim, by Michael Klim with Nicole Jeffrey is published by Hachette Australia 2024 (ISBN 978 0 7336 5161 8).
You can listen to Lesley’s review on the Hepburn Radio podcast. There’s more on the podcast.
Lesley Hewitt is a Daylesford resident who hosts The 2nd Thursday Book Review on Hepburn Radio.
