Grant Hackett is a swimmer who has competed for Australia. He competed at the 2000, 2004, and 2008 Summer Olympic Games.
Hackett was favored for the gold in the 1500 metres freestyle when Sydney hosted the Games in 2000. There, he maintained a lead from the start to claim a gold with his personal best of 14:48.33, edging out his teammate and two-time champion Kieren Perkins by more than five minutes. He dropped to last of the top eight in the 200 and seventh in the 400, citing a pre-race illness. He followed this setback with a slow swim in the heats of the 4x200 metres freestyle relay before Todd Pearson replaced him on the team that won a gold in the final.
Four years later in Athens, Hackett managed to retain his title in the 1500 metres freestyle with a new Olympic record (14:43.40). Hence, he joined Perkins and Vladimir Salnikov as the only swimmers to defend their title in the program's longest race at the Games. He trailed the defending champion Ian Thorpe by 0.26 of a second to snare a silver in the 400 and slipped the podium to fifth in the 200. He also produced a second fastest split of the field (1:47.50) on the lead-off leg to deliver the Australian men's team of Thorpe, Michael Klim, and Nicholas Sprenger his second silver of the Games in the 4x200 metres freestyle relay.
Hackett's streak for a third straight victory in the 1500 metres freestyle snapped in Beijing 2008, when Oussama Mellouli passed him to the front at the 1100-metre mark for the gold, leaving him with a silver in 14:41.53. He closed out his third Games with a bronze as a member of Australian men's 4x200 metres freestyle relay team. Shortly after, he retired from competitive swimming, ending his career with a medal haul of seven (three golds, three silver, and a bronze).
Olympic Results[]
| Year | Event | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Men's 200m freestyle | 8th |
| Men's 400m freestyle | 7th | |
| Men's 1500m freestyle | 
| |
| Men's 4x200m freestyle relay |
| |
| 2004 | Men's 200m freestyle | 5th |
| Men's 400m freestyle | 
| |
| Men's 1500m freestyle |
| |
| Men's 4x200m freestyle relay |
| |
| 2008 | Men's 400m freestyle | 6th |
| Men's 1500m freestyle |
| |
| Men's 4x200m freestyle relay | 
|
2000[]
| Discipline | Round | Time | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 200 metres freestyle | Heats | 1:49.23 | |
| Semifinal | 1:48.76 | ||
| Final | 1:49.46 | ||
| 400 metres freestyle | Heats | 3:48.91 | |
| Final | 3:48.22 | ||
| 1500 metres freestyle | Heats | 15:07.50 | |
| Final | 14:48.33 | ||
| 4x200 metres freestyle relay | Heats | 7:14.27 (1:50.31 split) |
|
| Final | 7:07.05 (Reserve) |
WR |
2004[]
| Discipline | Round | Time | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 200 metres freestyle | Heats | 1:48.90 | |
| Semifinal | 1:47.61 | ||
| Final | 1:46.56 | ||
| 400 metres freestyle | Heats | 3:46.55 | |
| Final | 3:43.36 | ||
| 1500 metres freestyle | Heats | 15:01.89 | |
| Final | 14:43.40 | OR | |
| 4x200 metres freestyle relay | Heats | 7:14.85 (Reserve) |
|
| Final | 7:07.46 (1:47.50 split) |
2008[]
| Discipline | Round | Time | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 400 metres freestyle | Heats | 3:44.03 | |
| Final | 3:43.84 | ||
| 1500 metres freestyle | Heats | 14:38.92 | OR |
| Final | 14:41.53 | ||
| 4x200 metres freestyle relay | Heats | 7:08.41 (Reserve) |
|
| Final | 7:04.98 (1:45.87 split) |