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Brooke Hanson

At the age of 4 and after two almost tragic events involving water, Brooke was taught to swim by the legendary Terry Gathercole at his Killarney Swim Centre. It was obvious to her swimming teacher and her parents that Brooke was born to breaststroke as in her very first race at the tender age of 5, she competed in a freestyle event - swam it breaststroke - and won the race!

Since that first race back in 1983, Brooke's life has focussed strongly around achieving her goals in swimming.

• At the age of 16, Brooke made her international debut as the youngest member of the 1994 Commonwealth Games Australian swim team competing in Victoria, Canada.
• In 1996 Brooke missed Olympic Games by a mere 0.11sec, however this did not deter her from dominating the breaststroke events in that same year where she claimed victory in the 50m breaststroke at the 2000 Telstra Australian Championships, a feat she repeated in 2003.
• At the 2000 and 2001 Australian Short Course Championships, Brooke took all before her by winning the 50, 100 and 200m breaststroke events.
• After a series of personal best times, Brooke qualified for the 2003 World Championships in Barcelona, where she established new Australian records for the 50m breaststroke in both the heat and then again in semi-final
• After returning home for the Australian Short Course Championships Brooke won her fourth successive 50m crown and again broke the Australian record. She later won silver in the 200m breaststroke and set a new Australian record in the 100m IM.
• In 2004 Hanson achieved her greatest international successes, culminating gold and silver medals in Athens and the six gold (five of which were in individual events, a feat never before achieved at a major international meet) at the World Short Course Championships.
• Hanson also joined all-time greats Mark Spitz, Kristin Otto, Ian Thorpe and Michael Phelps as the only swimmers to win six gold medals at a major international swim meet.

At the age of 29, and whilst doing an appearance for one of her sponsors, Brooke was electrocuted in a freak accident. She subsequently retired from swimming.

Whilst pursuing her swimming career, Brooke undertook a Bachelor of Arts Degree with a double major in marketing, communications and sociology. This has now lead Brooke to her current career in the field of communications and media. Brooke can be seen on Nine’s What’s Good For You program.