Petria Thomas

Petria Ann Thomas, born on 25 August 1975 in Lismore, New South Wales, is an Australian butterfly and freestyle swimmer who won Olympic gold and fifteen national titles. She grew up in Mullumbimby, where a community pool carries her name. After Commonwealth Games golds in 1994 she returned to win silver at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, took three medals at Sydney in 2000, and won the 100 metre butterfly at the 2004 Athens Games, where she also swam on two world record relay teams before retiring. She won five golds at the 2002 Commonwealth Games and became the first woman to win the same event at three consecutive Commonwealth Games. She later managed the Swimming Australia training centre at the Australian Institute of Sport and served as Australian chef de mission at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.