How Olympian Michael Klim reinvented himself and his definition of success after muscle-wasting disease CIDP

By Leisa Scott and Rebecca Armstrong, for ABC

Photo: ABC / Australian Story / Charlie Balch

Michael Klim's once powerful legs collapsed under him at Kuala Lumpur airport, and as he sat on the floor, distraught and unable to walk, it was Michelle Owen he phoned.

They'd met only a few months earlier at a Balinese bar, the former Olympic swim star quick to tell Michelle he wasn't swaying because he was drunk but because there was "something wrong with my legs".

But he had no idea what.

Photo: ABC News / Australian Story / Briana Fiore

It would take six months after that traumatic event at the airport in late 2019 before Klim would be diagnosed with chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP). This rare autoimmune neurological disorder attacks the body's nerve fibres, numbing and weakening limbs.

"When you're seeing your muscles wasting away in front of your eyes, no matter how many exercises you do, that was kind of a sign that there was something happening."

What the future held for Klim was unclear. He told his new love he didn't want her lumbered with "the dud version of Michael Klim".

Michelle never flinched, staying by his side as partner and caregiver through some of the toughest times, physically and mentally.

Photo: ABC / Australian Story / Charlie Balch

Late last year, the couple became engaged.

"The best thing and the brightest thing that happened is obviously, I met Michelle," Klim, 48, tells Australian Story.

"Meeting my partner … [was] a shining light for me out of that bad period."

He's emerged as a better person, he said.