Michael Klim will forever be one of Australia's swimming greats.
In 2000, the nation watched on as the then 23-year-old dove into the pool for the 4×100m freestyle relay at the Sydney Olympics.
Within minutes, Klim along with Ian Thorpe, Chris Fydler and Ashley Callus had claimed gold and set a new world record.
Now, over two decades later, the six-time Olympic medallist and seven time world champion, is unable to walk unaided.
Speaking on Sunday night’s The Project, the 44-year-old opened up about his life with chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) - a condition which causes a progressive weakening and loss of feeling and function in the arms and legs.
"Basically, I've lost sensation in both of my feet," he told The Project host Lisa Wilkinson.
With "little" function in his left foot and "minimal" in his right, Klim depends on a walking stick and braces to help him get around.
"I might end up in a wheelchair one day," he shared.
Watch: Michael Klim speaks about his health battle on The Project. Post continued below.
Klim, who has been keeping his condition private for years, first started noticing symptoms back in 2019.
Reflecting on his health journey, the father-of-three recalled "one of the scariest moments" he had at an airport in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
"I literally had to sit down on the floor. There were no seats through the airport. And I’ve called Michelle [his girlfriend] and I was literally in tears because I couldn’t pinpoint what it was," he shared.
"For me, my ability to do anything physical was something that I used to pride myself on. And it used to give me mental strength. And, bit by bit, it was being taken away."
Klim's condition worsened to the point where he would fall down in front of his children.
"That’s when [the children] really saw there was something going on with dad," said Michelle. "And it was quite scary for them to see that, and for all of us."
