Aussie swimming legend Michael Klim has been left unable to walk unaided after spending the last two years battling an incurable disorder that’s left him with no feeling in his feet.
The Olympic gold medal winner has to use walking sticks and braces for support since being diagnosed with chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy in 2020 after finding it difficult to maintain balance and suffering numbness.
Unfortunately the debilitating condition has led to him collapsing in front of his children and he now has limited functionality in his leg.
The two-time gold medallist has been suffering symptoms for years, but recently saw a medical professional who was able to give him some clarity and diagnose him with what is a rare disorder.
Michael Klim (left) holds partner Michelle Owen’s (right) hand while he walks with a cane
Klim said he had been dealing with symptoms of the disorder for three years.
‘In 2019 I started to get symptoms that I didn’t realise were connected to my diagnosis,’ he told The Sunday Telegraph.
‘I have been dealing with chronic ankle problems and degenerative back issues for quite some time and over the past few years, I noticed severe muscle wastage in my legs, difficulty with balance, some loss of function from the knees down, numbness in my thighs and feet, to the extent I was unable to stand.’
Klim was pictured with a walking cane while out with mother Ewa in June of this year
According to Australian charity Brain Foundation, the disorder ‘results in slowly progressive weakness and loss of feeling in the legs and arms. It is caused by the body’s immune system inappropriately reacting against and damaging myelin.’
Klim has been doing a specialised rehab program to combat the symptoms of the disorder, and has also made big changes to his diet, with the swim star ‘maintaining a mostly carnivore’ diet.
Rehab includes IVIG treatment (intravenous Immunoglobulin), which helps to reduce conditions which attack the body’s immune system.
Michael Klim looked very dapper when attending Everest race day at Randwick in 2019
‘Amid the pandemic I needed to return to Australia from my home in Bali for an immediate back operation to decompress the nerves in my spine and resume IVIG treatment,’ Klim said.
‘Massages, cupping and acupuncture help as well as using a tens machine regularly to activate my muscles. I’ve had special orthotics and braces fitted to support my drop foot and weak legs. Without them I can’t walk and need a walking stick.’
Klim’s long-term partner is Michelle Owen, and he also shares children Stella (16), Rocco (13) and Frankie (11) with ex-wife Lindy Rama-Ellis.
The blended family – Michael Klim with partner Michelle Owen (far right) and ex-wife Lindy Rama-Ellis, with her husband Adam Ellis and children Stella (16), Rocco (13) and Frankie (11)
Former teammate Ian Thorpe, who Klim won two relay gold medals with, cheekily refers to Owen as Klim’s ‘human walking stick’, while his children also take turns in providing leaning support while they are out and about.
He admitted it is ‘hard accepting that my identity will no longer be reliant on my athletic ability’, and has gone through some dark periods while coming to terms with the disorder.
‘I’ve gone through phases where I even drank too much and tried to numb the pain,’ he told Channel 10 show The Project, on a soon-to-air interview.
‘I give myself about an hour a day to feel sorry and angry and frustrated and whatever else or what other emotion comes into my mind, and then move on with the rest of life.’
Michael Klim is a 21-time world record holder and won two Olympic gold medals
He is keen to raise awareness for the disorder, as is hopeful his profile will allow for more research and funding into the rare illness.
The former Olympic champion also underwent a variety of procedures at a Sydney cancer treatment centre in 2021 to have a cyst removed from his throat.
He has previously been spotted with a cast on his leg in Bali in 2020.
The three-time Olympian, multiple world champion and 21-time world record holder has also been actively involved with the Australian Dolphins swim team since his retirement in 2007.
Klim rocks out on an air guitar after winning Olympic gold with Ashley Callus, Chris Fydler and Ian Thorpe after Gary Hall Jr said the Americans would ‘smash them like guitars’
The Australian team’s gold medal-winning 100m relay performance at the 2000 Sydney Olympics is one of the most iconic moments in Australian sport.
Klim, Thorpe, Ashley Callus and Chris Fydler beat an obnoxious American team who had said pre-race they were going to smash the Aussie team like guitars.
An amazing comeback in the anchor leg by Thorpe guided them to victory, and the side celebrated their gold by playing air guitars on the pool deck, much to the delight of the entire country.
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