Kirsten Thomson is an Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n middle distance freestyle swimmer, who won a silver medal in the 4x200m freestyle relay at the 2000 Sydney Olympics

2000 Summer Olympics

The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...

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Coming from Sydney

Sydney

Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

, New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

, Thomson was still attending Kirrawee High School

Kirrawee High School

Kirrawee High School is a comprehensive co-educational high school located in Kirrawee NSW adjacent to the Royal National Park.The school was opened in 1968 and now caters for around 1200 students, most continuing their education from three local primary schools, Gymea Bay, Grays Point and Kirrawee...

, when under the tutelage of Doug Frost at the Sutherland

Sutherland, New South Wales

Sutherland is a suburb in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Sutherland is located 26 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local government area of the Sutherland Shire....

 club alongside Ian Thorpe

Ian Thorpe

Ian James Thorpe OAM , nicknamed the Thorpedo and Thorpey, is an Australian swimmer who specialises in freestyle, but also competes in backstroke and the individual medley. He has won five Olympic gold medals, the most won by any Australian, and with three gold and two silver medals, was the most...

 when she was selected as a member of Australia's 4x200m relay team for the Sydney Games. Combining with Susie O'Neill, Giaan Rooney

Giaan Rooney

Giaan Leigh Rooney OAM is a retired Australian swimmer. She won an Olympic gold medal and broke a world record at the Athens Olympics...

 and Petria Thomas

Petria Thomas

Petria Ann Thomas OAM is an Australian swimmer and Olympic gold medallist and a winner of 15 national titles. She was born in Lismore, New South Wales and grew up in the nearby town of Mullumbimby....

, the Australians led for the first 650m before being worn down by the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

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Thomson left the Sutherland club in 2002 after long-time coach Frost was removed from the head coaching duties when Thorpe decide to switch to the coaching of Tracy Menzies, who was then one of Frost's assistants. In 2003 Thomson, swimming with the University of Sydney

University of Sydney

The University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...

 club returned to the international arena, competing at the 2003 FINA World Championships in Barcelona

Barcelona

Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...

, Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

, where she collected a silver in the 4x200m freestyle relay and failed to make the final of the individual event. She missed selection for the 2004 Athens Olympics

2004 Summer Olympics

The 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team...

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