When Ian Thorpe won his two gold medals at the Athens Olympics, it was a personal triumph for him - and a vindication for a former art teacher called Tracey Menzies. Two years earlier, Menzies was at the centre of controversy when Thorpe appointed her to replace his long time coach and mentor, Doug Frost. Not only was Menzies a woman in a traditionally male role, but she was also relatively unknown and inexperienced. Her own promising career as a swimmer was cut short when she collapsed with a serious illness at a major swimming meet. Thorpe's choice of Menzies to replace Doug Frost shocked other swim coaches. Swimming legend Don Talbot tells Australian Story: "the people who were hoping it would be them were vindictive." When Menzies went to Athens last year, she was the first female coach in 30 years to make an Australian Olympic Swim Team. Australian Story goes behind the scenes and features candid and revealing interviews with Menzies, Thorpe, Craig Stevens and other top swimmers.
—Australian Story