Editing Ian Thorpe (section)

===International debut (1997)===
{{MedalTableTop|name=no|header=[[1997 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships|1997 Pan Pacific Championships]]}}
{{MedalSilver | [[1997 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships – Men's 400 metre freestyle|400 m freestyle]] | 3:49.64}}
{{MedalSilver | [[1997 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships – Men's 4 × 200 metre freestyle relay|4×200 m freestyle]] | 7:15.72}}
{{MedalBottom}}
In June 1997, two months before the [[1997 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships|Pan Pacific Championships]], Thorpe required an [[vermiform appendix|appendix]] operation, which caused him to miss two weeks of training.<ref>Hunter, p. 83.</ref> Upon reaching Japan, Thorpe placed fourth in his heat of the [[1997 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships – Men's 200 metre freestyle|200&nbsp;m freestyle]] with a new personal best time of 1&nbsp;min 51.46&nbsp;s.<ref name=h87>Hunter, p. 87.</ref> Thorpe's time was not enough to qualify for the final, but earned him selection in the [[1997 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships – Men's 4 × 200 metre freestyle relay|4&nbsp;×&nbsp;200&nbsp;m freestyle relay]] team. Along with teammates [[Michael Klim]], [[Ian van der Wal]] and Hackett, Thorpe claimed silver, making him the youngest ever Pan Pacific medalist.<ref name=h87/> In his first individual final at international level, Thorpe was fifth at the 300&nbsp;m mark, but fought back to claim silver in the [[1997 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships – Men's 400 metre freestyle|400&nbsp;m freestyle]] behind Hackett in a time of 3&nbsp;min 49.64&nbsp;s.<ref name="andrews"/><ref name="andrews h">Andrews, pp. 191–192.</ref><ref name=s19>Swanton, p. 19.</ref><ref name=h88>Hunter, p. 88.</ref> His finishing burst was to become a trademark, and his time would have been enough to win silver at the [[Swimming at the 1996 Summer Olympics – Men's 400 metre freestyle|Atlanta Olympics]].<ref name="Hunter"/><ref name="smh early"/> In October 1997, a few days before his fifteenth birthday, Thorpe competed in qualifying trials in Brisbane for the [[1998 World Aquatics Championships]] in [[Perth, Western Australia|Perth]]. Thorpe gained selection for the world championships by finishing fourth and second in the 200&nbsp;m and 400&nbsp;m freestyle respectively. He set new personal bests in both events.<ref>Hunter, pp. 91–92.</ref>