Olympic swimming champions know how to move mountains. Especially Ian Thorpe. That's why it's particularly significant that Thorpe has spoken so passionately and insightfully about his resolve to help turn around Australia's grim record on health care for its Indigenous citizens.
Last week, Crikey published his monumental speech to the Beyond Sport Summit in London earlier this month.
'In 20 remote Australian communities and with thousands of Aboriginal children I know life will have some extra opportunities if I commit to work hard on this. I do intend to work hard at this for the rest of my life.'
Thorpe has spent time visiting Indigenous communities, where he was shocked by Third World health standards in the middle of a country that boasts some of the highest living standards of any nation on earth.
'Malnourished mothers are giving birth to babies that are seriously underweight and this only gets worse throughout a life born into poverty. Here diabetes affects one in every two adults. Kidney disease is in epidemic proportions in communities where living conditions, primary healthcare and infrastructure are truly appalling.'
Thorpe may have been super-human in his ability to perform in the pool. But he was just like us in being slow to comprehend the huge gap in health and education outcomes, and the differences of life expectancy.
'I, as many had, made an assumption; Australia is a rich country, don't we throw a lot of money at that problem? It disgusts me to speak those words now but that was what I thought.'
It's not uncommon for sports and other celebrities to get involved in charity work. But this speech suggests Thorpe is far ahead of the pack. Not only is he aware of the magnitude of the problem of Indigenous disadvantage, but he has a realistic understanding of his own ability to make a difference through a combination of his values and the power of celebrity.
'It is a bit disappointing that a teenager's opinion garnered more attention than those who had been working on their chosen causes before I was even born ... When I was 18 I established my charity, Fountain for Youth. I didn't realise at the time that this may be my biggest accomplishment. An achievement not in the sense of doing something right, rather a stepping stone where my values that I had gained from sport could be transferred to something that is bigger than sport and