Gold Medal Olympian

Competing under pressure is nothing new for the legendary Ian ‘Thorpey’ Thorpe AM. But the MasterChef kitchen offers a whole new challenge.

With nine Olympic medals including five gold, 11 World Championship titles, 10 Commonwealth Games medals and nine Pan Pacific Games titles, Thorpey - as he’s best known to Australia - will be a force to be reckoned with in the Celebrity MasterChef Australia kitchen.

Born in Sydney, Thorpey wowed the world with his athletic ability, breaking no less than 22 world records in the pool, and after travelling the globe for his sport, became familiar with a variety of different cuisines.

Keen on mac-and-cheese but with an aversion to eggs, there are high expectations from Thorpey, should the infamous relay come into play this season.

Named Young Australian of the Year in 2000 and awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia the following year, Thorpey hasn’t taken a break since leaving competitive swimming. In 2012 he received the Human Rights Medal for his work fighting for better services for Indigenous children in remote communities, and he holds Honorary Doctorates from both Western Sydney University and Macquarie University.

An expert sports commentator who most recently commentated for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, outside of the pool and the kitchen, Thorpey is both Patron and board member for frontline youth mental health service, ReachOut, Chair of the AIS Athlete Wellbeing & Engagement Committee and Co-Chair of The Sapphire Project promoting sustainability and ocean conservation.