Michael George Klim, OAM (born 13 August 1977) is a Polish-born Australian swimmer, Olympic gold medallist, world champion, and former world record-holder of the 1990s and 2000s. He is known as the creator of straight arm freestyle. Early years Klim was born in Gdynia, Poland. He was educated at the University High School, Melbourne and Wesley College, Melbourne where he was later employed as the college's elite head coach of swimming. Klim began swimming after falling out of a window, when it was suggested to him that a low impact exercise would aid his recovery. Career Klim was first selected to represent Australia in the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, while still a student at Wesley College, Melbourne. For his achievements he was named the Male Swimmer of the Year by Swimming World Magazine in 1997. In 1999, he set a world record in the 100 m butterfly twice, in a FINA-sanctioned time trial (51.81 s). It was broken at the 2003 World Championships in Barcelona by the Ukrainian Andriy Serdinov in the first semifinal of the 100 m butterfly, and then broken another time in the next semifinal by Michael Phelps. Phelps's record was bested by Ian Crocker in the final the following day. Klim was Australian Institute of Sport Athlete of the Year in 1998 and 1999 and was inducted into the AIS ' Best of the Best' in 2001. Klim was the only Australian to win a gold medal at both the Sydney 2000 Olympics and the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games. On 26 June 2007 Klim retired from competitive swimming; he finished the year ranked 94 in the 100 freestyle with the Olympics 14 months away. However on 14 February 2011 Klim announced his return to competitive swimming, hoping to compete in the London 2012 Olympics. Ultimately Klim failed to qualify for the team and he retired from competitive swimming for a second time. Medal achievements In 1996, he arrived at the Atlanta Olympics ranked first in the world for the 200 m freestyle, but was surprisingly eliminated in the heats. He rebounded to qualify for a finals in the 100m butterfly, and swam the freestyle leg in the 4×100 m medley relay, in which Australia claimed a bronze medal. Atlanta Olympics (USA) : Men's 4×100m Medley Relay. 1998 was Michael Klim's year in the sun. In January, the World Aquatics Championships were held