![\"IMG_7274\"](\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_7274-700x500.jpg\")
ALL LAID UP: A buoyant Petria Thomas in Deakin Hospital. Photo Courtesy: Petria Thomas (Facebook)<\/p><\/div>\n
\u201cThankfully (I\u2019m) not in too much pain after my shoulder replacement surgery today, which went well,\u201d Thomas wrote.<\/p>\n
\u201cNearly four hours under the knife though! Got a good report from both the anesthetist and my surgeon.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy shoulder was very arthritic so (I) defiantly made the right decision to get a new one!<\/p>\n
\u201c(It\u2019s) going to be a boring few days in hospital but I\u2019ve got Season One and Two of \u2018The Crown\u2019<\/em> lined up and ready to go.\u201d<\/p>\n Thomas, also inducted into the ISHOF, will go down in the annals of Australian sport as without doubt one of the toughest individuals ever to wear the green and gold Olympic Speedos.<\/p>\n Recovering and coming back from her three previous surgeries during her celebrated career was testament to the shy, softly spoken, yet determined country girl from Mullumbimby on the NSW north coast who was rescued by the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra, where she thrived.<\/p>\n Thomas went on to join 1996 Olympic gold medallist Susie O\u2019Neill on the podium winning a silver in a memorable 1-2 finish for Australia in the 200m butterfly in Atlanta before being a major part of Australia\u2019s Sydney 2000 campaign where she won bronze in the 200m butterfly, adding silvers in the 4x200m freestyle and 4x100m medley relay.<\/p>\n But it was in Athens in 04 where Thomas, after further shoulder surgery, celebrated her crowning glory \u2013 adding that elusive individual gold \u2013 beating Poland\u2019s Otylia Jedrzejczak, defending champion and the brilliant Dutchwoman Inje de Bruijn in a race that saw her team mate Jessicah Schipper fourth and US legend Jenny Thompson, fifth.<\/p>\n OLYMPIC GOLD for Petria Thomas. Photo Courtesy: Sport The Library<\/p><\/div>\n And she was an absolute powerhouse in an Australian engine room that gatecrashed the world\u2019s best to win gold in both the 4x100m freestyle (with Libby Trickett, Jodie Henry and Alice Mills) and the 4x100m medley (with Giaan Rooney, Leisel Jones and Henry).<\/p>\n And this latest surgery will be far from a set back for the unstoppable Thomas as she undertakes her three new roles in Australian sport, under Director, HP Strategy and Engagement, Andrew Logan with Gymnastics Australia, her Chef\u2019s role for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games and as a member of the ASADA athlete advisory committee launched at a leadership in sport conference at the University of Canberra recently.<\/p>\n Thomas is the first female to hold the Chef de Mission\u2019s role, at a Commonwealth Games, having been Steve Moneghetti’s understudy at the Gold Coast Games in 2018.<\/p>\n GOLDEN CELEBRATION: Petria Thomas (centre) with Athens Team mates Elka Graham (left) and Brooke Hanson at the 2004 Closing Ceremony. Photo Courtesy: Hanson Media Collection.<\/p><\/div>\n She shone in the pool at her three Commonwealth Games, winning a total haul of nine gold, two silver and one bronze after making her debut at the ’94 Victoria Games in Canada, followed by Kuala Lumpur inn 1998 and Manchester in 2002 \u2013 where she won five gold.<\/p>\n Thomas said working with Moneghetti, who was the chef de mission at the past three Commonwealth Games, had prepared her for the role, saying it had been great being able to learn from the great marathon man at the last few games and to see the way he conducts himself and the way he leads the team.<\/p>\n “In many respects I really relate to that. It was never about Monas, it was always about the team, \u201csaid Thomas.<\/p>\n COLOUR RUN: Petria Thomas with Steve Moneghetti. Photo Courtesy:Daily Telegraph<\/p><\/div>\n Thomas is also a strong anti-drugs campaigner saying on her ASADA appointment that she would urge anti-doping bodies to close the gap between themselves and drug cheats to protect the integrity of sport.<\/p>\n “Unfortunately I swam in an era when there was a lot of Chinese athletes caught for doping at that time,” Thomas said.<\/p>\n “I swam against another swimmer that was later suspended for tampering with a sample after the 1996 Olympic Games. I have certainly experienced it firsthand, in terms of what it’s like to be competing in an era when drugs are affecting the outcome.<\/p>\n “That was disappointing, as it is now, that the drug cheats are quite often just one step in front of the authorities that are trying to maintain that level playing field.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Australian swimming great Petria Thomas\u2019 shoulders have served her well, carrying her to three Olympic gold and eight Commonwealth Games gold medals in a stellar career but they have also<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7938,"featured_media":405223,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"dois","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3,10],"tags":[60665,67624,13786,119817,4499,8552,4344,2307,104,14065,6189,5745,27702,6636,3899,14596],"class_list":["post-405219","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-world","tag-2000-sydney-games","tag-2004-athens-olympics","tag-alice-mills","tag-atlanta-1996","tag-brooke-hanson","tag-elka-graham","tag-giaan-rooney","tag-inge-debruijn","tag-jenny-thompson","tag-jessicah-schipper","tag-jodie-henry","tag-leisel-jones","tag-libby-trickett","tag-otylia-jedrzejczak","tag-petria-thomas","tag-susie-oneill"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\r\n![\"petria-thomas-5b66daae-3f9b-424b-9a8a-2affb45c14a-resize-750\"](\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/petria-thomas-5b66daae-3f9b-424b-9a8a-2affb45c14a-resize-750-640x500.jpeg\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/ATHENS-CLOSING-ELKA-PETRAIA-BROOKE-700x500.jpg\")
![\"3e3929b25197062d97be8dc87d51f237\"](\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/3e3929b25197062d97be8dc87d51f237-700x500.jpg\")