Brooke Hanson

Brooke Louise Hanson OAM (born 18 March 1978 in Manly, New South Wales) is a former Australian swimmer.

A swimmer since the age of four, Hanson was the youngest swimmer on the Australian national team at the 1994 Commonwealth Games, where she finished fourth in the 200 m breaststroke. However, she would not qualify for another major international competition for eight years, until she qualified for the 100 m breaststroke and 200 m breaststroke at the 2002 Commonwealth Games. At the 2003 World Aquatics Championships, she would finish second in the 50 m breaststroke and sixth in the 100 m breaststroke.

At the 2004 Summer Olympics, Hanson won a gold medal as part of the Australian 4x100 medley relay team by swimming the breaststroke leg in a preliminary heat (Leisel Jones swam the breaststroke leg in the final). Jones' selection was the source of much discussion, and rumours spread of conflict between the two. She also won silver in the 100 m breaststroke.

Several weeks later, Hanson competed at the 2004 FINA Short Course World Championships in Indianapolis, Indiana. Most of the medal-winners from the recently finished Olympics chose not to attend which allowed Hanson to win six gold medals, five of which were for individual events.

2005 was a difficult year for Hanson. She was defeated by both Jade Edmistone and Leisel Jones in the 50 m and 100 m breaststroke at the Australian Championships. At the 2005 World Aquatics Championships in Montreal, Hanson missed the medals in both the 100 m breaststroke and the 200 m individual medley, but claimed bronze in the 50 m breaststroke.

She admitted after the 2006 Commonwealth Games trials that she had been close to retiring. She missed qualification for the 50 m and 100 m breaststroke events, where the three positions were claimed by Jones, Edmistone and Tarnee White respectively. She qualified for the 200 m breaststroke and individual medley, and claimed silver in the latter event behind young team-mate Stephanie Rice.

She swims with the Nunawading Swimming Club in Melbourne.

In 2006 she joined the health and lifestyle program What's Good For You team and is a presenter in the second series of the show. At the 2007 Logies, she was nominated for Most Popular Female New Talent for her role in the show.

On 17 June 2007, Hanson was taken to hospital after collapsing after an apparent electric shock after climbing out of a spa at a pool and spa show in Melbourne. An investigation by Energy Safe Victoria found no fault with the spa.

In 2008, she auditioned unsuccessfully for Gladiators on the Seven Network.

Hanson's father is a PR specialist with Swimming Australia and runs Hanson Sports Media an Australian sports media company.

Hanson is married to Jared Clarke and they have had two children. In July 2011, Hanson gave birth prematurely to a son, who she and Clarke named Jack. On 3 April 2012, Jack died from a cardiac arrest. He had suffered from a chronic lung disease and pulmonary hypertension.