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Ian Thorpe

September 24, 2023

Ian James Thorpe AM (born 13 October 1982) is an Australian retired[1] swimmer who specialised in freestyle, but also competed in backstroke and the individual medley. He has won five Olympic gold medals, the most won by any Australian along with fellow swimmer Emma McKeon. With three gold and two silver medals, Thorpe was the most successful athlete at the 2000 Summer Olympics, held in his hometown of Sydney.

Ian Thorpe
AM
Thorpe at Doha GOALS Forum 2012
Personal information
Full nameIan James Thorpe
Nickname(s)
  • "Thorpedo"
  • "Thorpey"
National team Australia
Born (1982-10-13) 13 October 1982 (age 40)
Sydney, Australia
Height1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)
Weight104 kg (229 lb)
Sport
SportSwimming
StrokesFreestyle
ClubSLC Aquadot
Coach
Medal record
Men's swimming
Representing Australia
Olympic Games
2000 Sydney 400 m freestyle
2000 Sydney 4×100 m free
2000 Sydney 4×200 m free
2004 Athens 200 m freestyle
2004 Athens 400 m freestyle
2000 Sydney 200 m freestyle
2000 Sydney 4×100 m medley
2004 Athens 4×200 m free
2004 Athens 100 m freestyle
World Championships (LC)
1998 Perth 400 m freestyle
1998 Perth 4×200 m free
2001 Fukuoka 200 m freestyle
2001 Fukuoka 400 m freestyle
2001 Fukuoka 800 m freestyle
2001 Fukuoka 4×100 m free
2001 Fukuoka 4×200 m free
2001 Fukuoka 4×100 m medley
2003 Barcelona 200 m freestyle
2003 Barcelona 400 m freestyle
2003 Barcelona 4×200 m free
2003 Barcelona 200 m medley
2003 Barcelona 100 m freestyle
World Championships (SC)
1999 Hong Kong 200 m freestyle
1999 Hong Kong 4×100 m free
1999 Hong Kong 400 m freestyle
Pan Pacific Championships
1999 Sydney 200 m freestyle
1999 Sydney 400 m freestyle
1999 Sydney 4×100 m free
1999 Sydney 4×200 m free
2002 Yokohama 100 m freestyle
2002 Yokohama 200 m freestyle
2002 Yokohama 400 m freestyle
2002 Yokohama 4×100 m free
2002 Yokohama 4×200 m free
1997 Fukuoka 400 m freestyle
1997 Fukuoka 4×200 m free
2002 Yokohama 4×100 m medley
Commonwealth Games
1998 Kuala Lumpur 200 m freestyle
1998 Kuala Lumpur 400 m freestyle
1998 Kuala Lumpur 4×100 m free
1998 Kuala Lumpur 4×200 m free
2002 Manchester 100 m freestyle
2002 Manchester 200 m freestyle
2002 Manchester 400 m freestyle
2002 Manchester 4×100 m free
2002 Manchester 4×200 m free
2002 Manchester 4×100 m medley
2002 Manchester 100 m backstroke

At the age of 14, Thorpe became the youngest male ever to represent Australia,[2] and his victory in the 400 metre freestyle at the 1998 Perth World Championships made him the youngest-ever individual male World Champion.[3] After that victory, Thorpe dominated the 400 m freestyle, winning the event at every Olympic, World, Commonwealth and Pan Pacific Swimming Championships until his break after the 2004 Olympics in Athens.[4] At the 2001 World Aquatics Championships, he became the first person to win six gold medals in one World Championship.[5] Aside from 13 individual long-course world records, Thorpe anchored the Australian relay teams, numbering the victories in the 4 × 100 m and the 4 × 200 m freestyle relays in Sydney among his five relay world records. His wins in the 200 m and 400 m and his bronze in the 100 m freestyle at the 2004 Summer Olympics made him the only male to have won medals in the 100–200–400 combination.[4] He acquired the nickname "Thorpedo" because of his speed in swimming. Thorpe announced his retirement from competitive swimming in November 2006, citing waning motivation;[6] he made a brief comeback in 2011 and 2012.

In total, Thorpe has won eleven World Championship gold medals; this is the fifth-highest number of gold medals won by any male swimmer.[7] Thorpe was the first person to have been named Swimming World Swimmer of the Year four times,[8][9] and was the Australian Swimmer of the Year from 1999 to 2003. His athletic achievements made him one of Australia's most popular athletes, and he was recognised as the Young Australian of the Year in 2000.[10]

Early years

Born in Sydney, Thorpe grew up in the suburb of Milperra and hailed from a sporting family.[11] His father Ken was a promising cricketer at junior level, representing Bankstown District Cricket Club in Sydney's district competition.[11][12][13] A talented batsman, he once topped the season's batting averages ahead of former Australian captain Bob Simpson. However, paternal pressure detracted from Ken's enjoyment of cricket, and he retired at the age of 26.[14] Thorpe's mother Margaret played A-grade netball,[12][15] but he did not inherit his parents' ball skills.[13] His elder sister Christina was advised to take up swimming to strengthen a broken wrist, so by chance, the five-year-old Thorpe followed her into the pool.[12][13][16] Due to his unhappy experiences, Ken Thorpe regarded enjoyment as the most critical aspect of his children's participation in sport.[15] A large baby, Thorpe weighed 4.1 kg (9.0 lb) and measured 59 cm (1 ft 11 in) in length at birth.[17]

As a young child, Thorpe was sidelined by an allergy to chlorine.[3] As a result, he did not swim in his first race until a school carnival at the age of seven.[18] The allergy forced Thorpe to swim with his head out of the water; despite this ungainly technique, he won the race, primarily because of his significant size advantage.[11][19][20] Thorpe gradually overcame the ailment and progressed to the captaincy of New South Wales for the Australian Primary Schools Championships in 1994.[21] He subsequently won nine individual gold medals at the New South Wales Short Course Age Championships in September of the same year.[22] In 1995, Thorpe started his secondary education at East Hills Boys Technology High School[11][23] and switched coaches to swim alongside his sister under the tutelage of Doug Frost.[20] It was a busy year for the family; Christina was selected for the Australian team to compete at the 1995 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in Atlanta.[24] Now six feet tall, Ian competed at his first Australian Age Championships, winning bronze medals in the 200 m and 400 m freestyle. He won all ten events at the New South Wales Age Championships.[3][25][26]

National competition

Thorpe competed at the 1996 Australian Age Championships in Brisbane, winning five gold, two silver and two bronze medals.[4] His times in the 400 m freestyle and 200 m backstroke qualified him for the Australian Championships,[27] which doubled as selection trials for the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. Frost knew that Thorpe had no realistic chance of making the top two in any event, which would have meant Olympic selection at only 13 years and six months. He sent Thorpe to Sydney merely to gain competition experience at senior national level.[27] As expected, Thorpe missed selection; he finished 23rd in the 400 m freestyle and 36th in the 200 m backstroke.[27] At the end of the year, Thorpe qualified for the Australian Short Course Championships. It was another chance to gain national selection, as the event served as the selection trials for the 1997 FINA World Swimming Championships. Thorpe qualified in second place in the heats of the 400 m individual medley and reached his first national final.[28] However, he swam more slowly in the final and missed selection.[28]

At the New South Wales Championships in January 1997, Thorpe's time of 3 min 59.43 s in the 400 m was eight seconds faster than his previous personal best;[28] it made him the first 14-year-old to cover the distance in less than four minutes on Australian soil. Ranked fourth for the event countrywide,[28] Thorpe went into the Australian Championships in Adelaide as a serious contender for selection in the national team for the 1997 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in Fukuoka, Japan. With a top-three finish and a specific qualifying time required for selection, Thorpe focused on the 400 m freestyle after injuries to world record holder Kieren Perkins and Daniel Kowalski; both had won Olympic medals in the event. Thorpe went on to win bronze behind 16-year-old Queenslander Grant Hackett, setting a new personal best of 3 min 53.44 s.[29] The time was a world record for his age group and the race was the first of many battles with Hackett.[29]

Aged 14 years and 5 months, Thorpe became the 463rd[30] and youngest ever male to be selected for the Australian team,[3][20] surpassing John Konrads' record by one month.[31] Frost said that Thorpe's selection catalysed his eventual focus on freestyle. Thorpe continued his good form at the Australian Age Championships. He contested all twelve events, winning ten individual gold and two bronze medals.[32] He set six Australian records in the process.[12][29]

Early international career (1997–1998)

International debut (1997)

In June 1997, two months before the Pan Pacific Championships, Thorpe required an appendix operation, which caused him to miss two weeks of training.[33] Upon reaching Japan, Thorpe placed fourth in his heat of the 200 m freestyle with a new personal best time of 1 min 51.46 s.[34] Thorpe's time was not enough to qualify for the final, but earned him selection in the 4 × 200 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.[34] In his first individual final at international level, Thorpe was fifth at the 300 m mark, but fought back to claim silver in the 400 m freestyle behind Hackett in a time of 3 min 49.64 s.[3][35][36][37] His finishing burst was to become a trademark, and his time would have been enough to win silver at the Atlanta Olympics.[2][12] 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. Thorpe gained selection for the world championships by finishing fourth and second in the 200 m and 400 m freestyle respectively. He set new personal bests in both events.[38]

1998 World Aquatics Championships

Thorpe's first international appearance in his home country, at the 1998 World Championships in Perth, began with the 4 × 200 m freestyle relay. Swimming the third leg after Klim and Hackett, Thorpe broke away from 200 m butterfly Olympic champion Tom Malchow to set a split time of 1 min 47.67 s, just 0.26 seconds slower than Klim's winning time in the 200 m final.[39] By the end of Thorpe's leg, the Australians were two seconds ahead of the world record pace, and three seconds ahead of the Americans, having extended the lead by two body lengths. Although anchorman Kowalski finished outside the world record,[40] it was the first time that Australia had won the event at the global level since 1956.[4] Thorpe was ranked fourth in the world before the 400 m final, which Hackett led from the outset. Hackett established a comfortable 2.29 s lead over Thorpe by the 300 m mark, and although Thorpe reduced the margin to 1.53 s at the 350 m mark, Hackett led until Thorpe passed him on the final stroke.[41] Thorpe's time was the fourth fastest in history and made him the youngest ever male individual world champion, aged 15 years and 3 months.[3][35][36][42]

As a result of the media attention generated by his win on home soil, Thorpe received multiple offers for television commercials and was often surrounded by autograph hunters.[43] He became a high-profile supporter of the Children's Cancer Institute, after his sister Christina's future brother-in-law Michael Williams became gravely ill with cancer.[44][45]

1998 Commonwealth Games

1998 Commonwealth Games
  200 m freestyle 1:46.70
  400 m freestyle 3:44.35
  4×100 m freestyle 3:17.83
  4×200 m freestyle 7:11.86 (WR)

Thorpe's next competition was in March at the Australian Championships in Melbourne, which were selection trials for the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Malaysia. Thorpe's improvement continued when he defeated Klim in the 200 m freestyle in 1 min 47.24 s, faster than Klim's winning time at the World Championship two months earlier.[46] Thorpe's time was a Commonwealth record[47] and with it, he secured his first national title. He then claimed the 400 m freestyle title from Hackett and clocked 50.36 s in the 100 m freestyle. His time earned silver in his first 100 m race at the national level, gaining him Commonwealth selection in three individual events.[48]

Thorpe's rise continued when the Australians arrived in Kuala Lumpur during September for the Commonwealth Games. Thorpe's first event was the 200 m freestyle, where he led throughout to record a time just one hundredth of a second outside Giorgio Lamberti's world record.[49] He then combined with Klim, Kowalski and Matt Dunn in the 4 × 200 m freestyle relay to break the world record of the Unified Team set in 1992 by 0.09 s.[50] Thorpe's run ended when a personal best of 50.21 s in the 100 m freestyle was only sufficient for fourth place, but he returned to victory with the 4 × 100 m freestyle relay team.[49] He claimed a fourth gold in the 400 m freestyle, setting another personal best, just 0.55 s slower than Kieren Perkins' 1994 mark.[3][4][51][52][53]

Thorpe left school at the end of the year after completing Year 10. His decision caused concerns that concentrating on swimming alone could lead to burn out.[54] Thorpe disagreed, pointing to his informal search for knowledge, stating that "Swimming is a small part of my life".[54] His impact in the swimming community was acknowledged when he became the youngest male swimmer to be named as the Swimming World Swimmer of the Year.[54]

Record-breaking years (1999–2002)

1999 World Short Course Championships
  200 m freestyle 1:43.28 (WR)
  4×100 m freestyle 3:11.21
  400 m freestyle 3:35.64

The year 1999 began with heavy media expectations that Thorpe would inevitably break both 200 m and 400 m world records, given his continuing physical growth. The first opportunity came in late March at the 1999 Australian Championships in Brisbane, which doubled as a selection event for the 1999 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships. Thorpe again won the 400 m, but Perkins' record eluded him, this time by just 0.05 s.[55] Hackett turned the tables in the 200 m event, passing Thorpe in the final 50 m to win Thorpe's title.[35] Although both were outside Lamberti's mark, Hackett went on to break it the following night in a relay event.[56][57] Thorpe finished the Championships by continuing his improvement in the 100 m freestyle, posting a time of 49.98 s, his first under the 50 s barrier. The Australian team then travelled to Hong Kong for the 1999 World Short Course Championships, where Thorpe broke Lamberti's mark in the 200 m freestyle, the longest standing world record at the time. However, Hackett defeated him in the 400 m.[3][58] This was the start of a three-year phase where Thorpe was to set his 13 individual long course world records. He led the men's relay team to unprecedented success in relay events, scoring historic victories over the Americans. Thorpe was to peak in 2001 when he became the first person to win six gold medals at one world championships, setting three world records and helping Australia top the medal tally at a global meet for the first time since 1956. In this period, he was named Swimming World Swimmer of the Year three times.[7][8][4]

1999 Pan Pacific Championships

1999 Pan Pacific Championships
  200 m freestyle 1:46.00 (WR)
  400 m freestyle 3:41.83 (WR)
  4×100 m freestyle 3:16.08
  4×200 m freestyle 7:08.70 (WR)

The 1999 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships were held in August at Sydney Olympic Park, and were viewed as a rehearsal for the 2000 Summer Olympics to be held in the same venue. With Thorpe expected to deliver world records at his first international meet in Sydney, the event was shown live on Australian television for the first time. The opening night saw him pitted against Hackett and South Africa's Ryk Neethling in the 400 m freestyle final.[59] The trio reached the 200 m mark in a group, on world record pace, before Thorpe broke away, recording a split time 1.86 s ahead of world-record pace at 300 m. He extended his lead to four body lengths by the 350 m mark and finished in a time of 3 min 41.83 s, cutting almost two seconds from the world record,[4][53][60] and covering the second half in almost the same time as the first.[61][62] Talbot reacted to the performance by dubbing Thorpe as "the greatest swimmer we've [Australia] ever had",[63] whilst four-time American Olympic gold medalist Rowdy Gaines, commentating for NBC, said "...he went into a balls-out sprint at 250 – and I have never seen anything like that...I have been around swimming a long time and it's the most amazing swim I've ever seen, hands down."[60][63] A formula used by the International Swimming Statisticians Association to compare world records in different events gave his performance the highest score of all current world records.[64] Thorpe promptly donated the A$25,000 prize money for breaking the first world record in the pool to charity.[7][3][65][66]

Later the same night, Thorpe anchored the Australians to a historic victory in the 4 × 100 m freestyle final,[60][65] the first time the United States had lost the event. Thorpe set an Australian record relay split of 48.55 s. Even taking into account a 0.6–0.7 s for a flying relay start, his split time was almost 1 s faster than his individual best of 49.98 s.[61] It was to be the first of many occasions in which he would anchor the Australian relay teams to victory over the Americans, with splits consistently faster than his equivalent individual times.[67] The following night, in the semi-finals of the 200 m freestyle, Thorpe broke Hackett's world record by 0.33 s, clocking 1 min 46.34 s.[4][68] The next day in the final, he again broke the record,[53] lowering it to 1 min 46.0 s.[4][69][70] He finished his competition by leading off the 4 × 200 m freestyle team with Klim, Hackett and Bill Kirby to victory. Their time lowered their own world record by more than three seconds, completing Thorpe's fourth world record in four nights.[3][4][35][71][72][73]

Immediately after the Pan Pacific Championships, Thorpe's management announced his signing to Adidas for an undisclosed six-figure sum, stating that he would race in their new bodysuit. This presented a dilemma, as the national team was sponsored and wore outfits designed by Speedo, leading to months of protracted discussions and uncertainty.[74] To compound his commercial difficulties, Thorpe had an uncertain end to the sporting year when, in October, he broke a bone in his ankle whilst jogging.[75] However his performance throughout the year was recognised when he was again named as the World Swimmer of the Year by Swimming World, and by Swimming Australia as its Swimmer of the Year. In a wider arena, he was named Young Australian of the Year,[10] ABC Sports Star of the Year, and Male Athlete of the Year at the Australian Sports Awards.[3][76][77]

2000 Olympic build-up

Thorpe started 2000 looking to add a third individual event to his Olympic schedule. He explored his options by contesting the 1500 m freestyle at the New South Wales Championships in January, which he won.[78] Thorpe embarked on a European FINA World Cup tour to hone his racecraft, but this was overshadowed by comments made by German head coach Manfred Thiesmann accusing him of using steroids.[79][80][81] Thiseman claimed that Thorpe's physical attributes were symptomatic of steroid use and that his ability to exceed prior records believed to be drug-fuelled made his feats worthy of suspicion.[31][79] Thorpe's difficulties heightened at the subsequent German leg of the tour in Berlin, when a standoff over a drug-test arose when officials wanted to take an unsealed sample due to lack of containers. After the standoff was resolved,[82][83][84] Thorpe proceeded to cut more than 1.5 s from his world short course record in the 200 m freestyle.[85] Given the context of the race, Thorpe rated it as his best-ever performance, ahead of his victories at Olympic and World level.[83][86][87] On returning from Europe, Thorpe faced further uncertainty until he was granted permission to wear his Adidas suit instead of the Australian uniforms provided by Speedo.[88]

With the past uncertainties resolved, Thorpe proceeded to the Olympic selection trials at Sydney Olympic Park in May 2000. He again broke his 400 m world record on the first night of racing,[89] lowering it to 3 min 41.33 s to earn his first Olympic selection.[4][90][91] The following day, he lowered his 200 m world record to 1 min 45.69 s in the semi-finals,[92][93][94] before lowering it again to 1 min 45.51 s in the final.[4][95][96][97] His attempt to secure a third individual berth failed after he finished fourth in the final of the 100 m and withdrew from the 1500 m.[98][99][100]

2000 Summer Olympics

2000 Summer Olympics
  400 m freestyle 3:40.59 (WR)
  4×100 m freestyle 3:13.67 (WR)
  4×200 m freestyle 7:07.05 (WR)
  200 m freestyle 1:45.83
  4×100 m medley 3:35.27

Entering the Olympics, the Australian public expected Thorpe to deliver multiple world records and gold medals as a formality; Sydney's Daily Telegraph posted a front-page spread headlined Invincible.[101][102] Thorpe cruised through the heats of the 400 m on the first morning of competition, posting a new Olympic record and shortening bookmakers' odds to 50–1.[101][103][104] By the time the final was held that night, the pressure had intensified—the host nation had yet to win its first gold medal. Thorpe led throughout, and although Italy's Massimiliano Rosolino was within a body length at the 300 m mark, Thorpe's finishing kick extended the final margin to three body lengths.[105] This set a new world record of 3 min 40.59 s.[106][107] Secret tests carried out by the Italian National Olympic Committee prior to the Olympics later showed that Rosolino had abnormal levels of human growth hormone.[108][109] Rosolino aside, Thorpe had left bronze medallist Klete Keller fifteen metres in arrears.[109]

Thorpe lined up later in the night alongside Klim, Chris Fydler and Ashley Callus to anchor the 4 × 100 m freestyle relay, an event which the Americans had never lost at Olympic level. The third leg ended with Australia only an arm's length ahead of the United States.[110] Thorpe timed his dive much better than Gary Hall Jr., and surfaced a body length ahead. Hall's sprinting ability allowed him to open a lead by the final turn,[111][112] but Thorpe's finishing kick overhauled him in the final metres, sparking wild celebrations amongst the partisan crowd.[4][106][113]

Prior to the 4 × 100 m freestyle relay, Hall posted on his blog: "My biased opinion says that we will smash them (Australia's 4x100m team) like guitars. Historically the U.S. has always risen to the occasion. But the logic in that remote area of my brain says it won't be so easy for the United States to dominate the waters this time." The Australian team responded to Hall's remarks after the race by playing air guitar on the pool deck. Hall recalled the race, saying, "I don't even know how to play the guitar...I consider it the best relay race I've ever been part of. I doff my cap to the great Ian Thorpe. He had a better finish than I had."[114] Another member of Australia's victorious 4x100 team, Michael Klim, recalled that "Hall was the first swimmer to come over and congratulate us. Even though he dished it out, he was a true sportsman".

When Thorpe broke the 200 m freestyle Olympic record in the heats the following morning,[115] his main rival Pieter van den Hoogenband of the Netherlands (with World No. 2 ranked and teammate Michael Kim bypassing the 200 metres) conceded defeat.[116][117] However, van den Hoogenband showed his hand in the semi-finals by cutting more than a second off his personal best, to set a new world record of 1 min 45.35 s. Thorpe qualified second with a personal best of his own, 0.02 s slower,[117][118] and was under immense pressure to win the final the following day after his double gold on the first night.[119][120] Van den Hoogenband started quickly and Thorpe chased him, reaching the 100 m mark just 0.04 s behind. Both swimmers turned at 150 m in identical times. As a result of starting harder than usual, Thorpe faded as van den Hoogenband drew away to claim gold and equal his world record, stunning the home crowd. Thorpe touched in 1 min 45.83 s, the first time that he had swum slower in the final than in the qualifying rounds.[121][122][123] Thorpe would never lose to van den Hoogenband in a long course 200 metres race again.

Thorpe returned to victory when he led off the 4 × 200 m freestyle relay the following night, setting up a 10 m lead over American Scott Goldblatt in the first leg. Although Thorpe was unable to reclaim the individual world record,[124] he, Klim, Kirby and Todd Pearson lowered their world record to 7 min 07.05 s,[125] over five seconds ahead of the Americans—the largest winning margin in an Olympic relay for half a century.[126][127] Thorpe rounded off his Olympics by swimming in the heats of the 4 × 100 m medley relay, and collected a silver medal when the finals quartet finished behind the Americans.[4][128][129] Thorpe's performances as Australia's leading medalist for the Games were recognised when the Australian Olympic Committee granted him the honour of carrying the flag at the closing ceremony.[128][130][131] With three gold and two silver medals, Thorpe was the most successful athlete at the 2000 Olympic Games. At year's end, he was again named by Swimming Australia as the Swimmer of the Year, but van den Hoogenband usurped him as the leading male swimmer chosen by Swimming World Magazine.[132]

2001 World Aquatics Championships

2001 World Championships
  200 m freestyle 1:44.06 (WR)
  400 m freestyle 3:40.17 (WR)
  800 m freestyle 7:39.16 (WR)
  4×100 m freestyle 3:14.10
  4×200 m freestyle 7:04.66 (WR)
  4×100 m medley 3:35.35

With the 2001 Australian Championships held in Hobart in March, Thorpe added the 800 m freestyle to his repertoire, after FINA had added the event for the 2001 World Aquatics Championships.[133] Thorpe began his campaign by successfully defending his 400 m title with a time just 0.17 s outside his world record.[134][135][136] The following night in the 800 m event, he drew away from Hackett in the last 100 m to break Kieren Perkins' 1994 world record by over four seconds.[4][135][137][138] He earned his third title by cutting 0.66 s from van den Hoogenband's 200 m world record to set a new mark of 1 min 44.69 s.[4][135][139] This performance made him the third male after John Konrads and Tim Shaw to hold world records over three distances simultaneously.[140] His subsequent victory in the 100 m freestyle in a new personal best of 49.05 s made him the first since Konrads in 1959 to hold all Australian freestyle titles from 100 m to 800 m.[135][141] This indicated that he could swim faster at the subsequent World Championships in Fukuoka, where he was looking to regain the ascendancy from van den Hoogenband.[7][4][142][143]

Thorpe arrived in Fukuoka having been chosen by broadcaster TV Asahi as the marketing drawcard of the event.[144] With the 4 × 100 m freestyle relay being held after the 400 m freestyle on the first night, Thorpe appeared to be conserving energy when he reached the 200 m mark two seconds outside his world record. Although he was 0.93 s behind at the final turn, a final 50 m burst in 24.36 s saw him cut a further 0.42 s from his world record.[145][146] The relay saw him dive in fractionally ahead of American Jason Lezak after Klim, Callus and Pearson had completed the first three legs. Thorpe fell behind in the early half of the leg before kicking away in the closing stages, to seal gold with his fastest-ever relay split of 47.87 s.[147][148] In the 800 m final, he shadowed Hackett for the first 750 m, staying within a body length. He then broke clear to win by a body length, lowering his world record by over two seconds.[145][149][150] The 200 m freestyle rematch with van den Hoogenband provided Thorpe with a chance to rectify his strategy from the Olympics; this time he allowed the Dutchman to lead through the first 100 m. Thorpe pulled even at the 150 m mark and then broke away towards the finishing wall two body lengths clear. He lowered his world record to 1 min 44.06 s in the process, prompting van den Hoogenband to raise his arm aloft.[145][151][152]

Thorpe's winning streak was interrupted in the 100 m freestyle when his personal best of 48.81 s placed him fourth,[153] but he returned to form in the 4 × 200 m freestyle relay. Anchoring the team of Klim, Hackett and Kirby, the Australians lowered their world record time by more than two seconds, leaving the Italians more than six seconds in arrears.[7][154] Having overtaken Klim as Australia's leading 100 m freestyle swimmer, Thorpe was entrusted with anchoring the 4 × 100 m medley relay team on 28 July. After Matt Welsh, Regan Harrison and Geoff Huegill had finished their legs, Thorpe's change left him half a body length behind the new 100 m world champion Anthony Ervin of the United States. The Americans were expected to win, and with his typically slow start, Thorpe turned a body length behind with 50 m remaining. With an American victory seeming inevitable, Thorpe managed to accelerate and deprive Ervin of the lead in the last 5 m.[5][145][155] This made Thorpe the only swimmer to have won six gold medals at a World Championships,[4][31] and the first since Shaw in 1974 to win the 200–400–800 treble.[145] His performances formed the basis for Australia's gold medal win over the United States 13–9. It was also the first time since the 1956 Summer Olympics that Australia had topped the medal tally at a global meet.[156] Thorpe's achievements led to predictions that he could match Mark Spitz's seven gold medals at the 1972 Summer Olympics, which he played down.[157]

2002 Commonwealth Games and Pan Pacific Championships

Thorpe began competition in 2002 at the Australian Championships in Brisbane in March, which were used to select the team for the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester and the 2002 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships. After his record six gold medals in Fukuoka, the meet was surrounded by further expectations of world records and speculation that he would match Spitz's seven gold medals.[158] His winning time in the 400 m was the second fastest in history, but such was the expectation on him that his failure to break a world record was the talking point.[159] He claimed the 100 m and 200 m events in times outside his best, making it the first time that he had failed to break a world record at a major meet since 1999.[160] He also experimented by adding the 100 m backstroke to his repertoire, placing second.[158] This earned him a Commonwealth spot in a seventh event, leading to further media speculation that he could match Spitz.[161]

2002 Commonwealth Games
  100 m freestyle 48.73
  200 m freestyle 1:44.71
  400 m freestyle 3:40.08 (WR)
  4×100 m freestyle 3:16.42
  4×200 m freestyle 7:11.69
  4×100 m medley 3:36.05
  100 m backstroke 55.38

By this time, Thorpe's relationship with Frost was beginning to unravel. Thorpe had always insisted that his swimming was about enjoyment and improving himself in setting faster times, rather than victory or defeat. This contrasted with Frost, who had a more aggressive and combative mindset, often making bold public statements.[162] Thorpe ignored Frost's advice and bulked up his upper body by a further 5 kg to 105 kg, making him the heaviest elite swimmer in history.[163] His reasoning that the strength gains would outweigh any loss in flexibility raised concerns over his physiological strategy.[164] On the first night in Manchester, Thorpe again lowered his 400 m mark by 0.09 s to 3 min 40.08 s, which remains the fastest ever 400m swim not swum in an LZR Racer[4][160][165] before anchoring the 4 × 100 m freestyle relay team to another gold.[166][167][168] Prior to the 200 m final, Thorpe was seen arguing with Frost in the warm-up area. Thorpe won, but was unusually angry at having failed to lower his previous best, publicly stating that he "wasn't with it" and that he had "one of the worst warm-ups ever".[166][167][169] Thorpe did manage to lower his personal best in the 100 m freestyle to 48.73 s en route to his fourth gold, and anchored the 4 × 200 m freestyle and 4 × 100 m medley relays to comfortable victories.[166][169][170] When he collected a silver in his first international race in the 100 m backstroke with another personal best behind world champion Matt Welsh,[171] he was forced to rebuff media comparisons to Spitz. He emphasised personal performance, stating "I think it's a limiting attitude to be competing against other people when you can be challenging yourself".[172] Despite Thorpe's assertion that he could not match Spitz, Frost predicted that Thorpe could win nine golds at one Olympics.[172] In spite of the media disappointment, Thorpe's six gold medals equalled the record set by Susie O'Neill, completing all in Games or World record time.[4][31][160][166][173][174] As a result, he was awarded the honour of carrying the flag at the closing ceremony.[174][175]

The Pan Pacific Championships followed in Yokohama less than a month later, with media speculation about Thorpe and Frost overshadowing the racing.[176] Thorpe began his campaign with a victory over Hackett in the 400 m freestyle in a time five seconds outside his world record. Afterwards, he revealed that both he and Hackett had deliberately conserved energy for the 4 × 100 m freestyle relay later in the night.[177] Australia subsequently won the relay, with Thorpe again overtaking Jason Lezak in the last 50 m.[177][178] He subsequently won the 200 m freestyle, and anchored the 4 × 200 m freestyle relay to victory to take his tally to four golds.[179][180] After qualifying second in the 100 m freestyle, Thorpe came from fourth at the 50 m mark win his fifth gold in a time of 48.84 s.[160][181][182] Thorpe's run ended in the 4 × 100 m medley relay final, when despite setting the second fastest ever relay split of 47.20 s, Australia were defeated.[183][184]

Tracey Menzies era (2003–2006)

After the 2002 Pan Pacific Championships, Thorpe announced that he was splitting with Frost to train with one of his assistants, Tracey Menzies, who had no prior international experience. Admitting that tension existed between him and Frost, Thorpe asserted that the split was amicable. He cited waning motivation for the split, stating "I decided I either had to make the change or it was to walk away from the sport".[185] The retired Talbot expressed concerns that Thorpe was making a decision whilst he was physically and emotionally drained, while other coaches felt that the new relationship would end up with Thorpe, rather than Menzies, making the decisions.[31][186][187] Despite a turbulent year, he was again named by Swimming World as its World Swimmer of the Year.[160]

Along with the switch of coaches, Thorpe indicated that he would put more focus on improving his sprinting ability. He thus dropped the 800 m freestyle despite being the reigning world champion and record holder.[188] During this period, his times in the 400 m and 200 m freestyle deteriorated, and both he and Menzies were criticised. The criticism continued to mount during their partnership, particularly during the build-up to the 2004 Olympics. Following his victory in the 200 and 400 events in Athens, Thorpe said that his results justified his decision, despite posting substantially faster times as a young swimmer under Frost.[189]

2003 World Aquatics Championships

The first major test of Thorpe's partnership with Menzies came at the Australian Championships held in Sydney in March. Thorpe did not threaten any of his world records, completing the 400 m and 200 m freestyle more than two and one seconds respectively off his best. Despite defeating Hackett in both races to retain his titles,[190] he later admitted that he was "pretty disappointed" with his performances.[191] When he tied with Ashley Callus in a time of 49.05 s,[192] he was criticised by The Sydney Morning Herald which stated "The measure of Thorpe's sprinting ability is that he could only match the efforts of a virus-riddled Callus".[182] Thorpe found some relief by setting a new Commonwealth record of 2 min 00.11 s in his first long course 200 m individual medley outing, the fifth fastest time in the past year.[193] Thorpe attracted further criticism when he withdrew from the inaugural Duel in the Pool with a medical complaint, despite travelling overseas for commercial and charity work.[194][195]

Thorpe arrived for the 2003 World Championships in Barcelona for his first major international competition since Menzies' appointment under heavy media scrutiny following his non-improvement at the Australian Championships. On the first night of competition Thorpe defeated Hackett in the 400 m freestyle in a time 2.5 s outside his world record,[196] making him the first to win three world titles in the same event.[4] After his relatively slow 400 m, he was again under pressure in the 200 m freestyle after van den Hoogenband led at the 100 m mark ahead of world record pace. Thorpe managed to respond and retain his world title,[197] and gained some relief after his sprint training yielded his first medal in the 100 m freestyle at a global competition; he finished third in 48.77 s.[198] In all three freestyle events however, he had swum slower than his times under Frost. He ended his individual campaign on a promising note with his experiment with the 200 m individual medley, setting a new personal best of 1 min 59.66 s to claim silver.[199] Thorpe again anchored the 4 × 200 m freestyle team to retain the world title along with Hackett, Nicholas Sprenger and Craig Stevens, with a reduced margin over the Americans, who finished less than two seconds in arrears.[4][200] Michael Klim's injuries left the relay teams weakened, with Thorpe anchoring the 4 × 100 m freestyle team to fourth,[196][201] At the end of a difficult year in the water, his standing had fallen in the eyes of Swimming World, who rated him fourth in the world. He was again named as Australian Swimmer of the Year, jointly with Hackett.[202]

2004 Summer Olympics

After his feats at the 2003 World Championships, Speedo had generated significant media publicity by offering Michael Phelps US$1 million if he could match Spitz's seven golds. Thorpe was adamant that this was impossible, and scrapped his seventh event, the 200 m individual medley from his Olympic program.[203] In late March 2004 at the Australian Championships in Sydney, Thorpe overbalanced whilst on the blocks in the heats of the 400 m freestyle and fell into the water, resulting in his disqualification and ending the defence of his Olympic 400 m title.[4] This resulted in a large debate among the swimming and public community as to whether Thorpe should be given an exception to Australia's policy of selecting the first and second place getters, with Prime Minister of Australia John Howard describing the situation as a "tragedy".[204] Despite the intense media spotlight, Thorpe managed to win the 100 m and 200 m freestyle events to ensure his selection for Athens. Craig Stevens, who had claimed the second qualifying position in the 400 m event, subsequently faced immense public pressure to relinquish his position to Thorpe, and later did so in a television interview for which he was paid.[4] This generated ethical debate as to whether Stevens' decision had been bought, and criticism against Thorpe.[205][206]

The pressure in the lead-up was further compounded by the media attention surrounding Phelps, who had decided that the 200 m freestyle would be one of the events in his quest for eight gold medals. This prompted many media outlets to label the race between Thorpe, van den Hoogenband, Phelps and Hackett as The Race of the Century. With the press spotlight growing, Thorpe tried to avoid media attention, resulting in a few terse media events.[207] Thorpe's increasing focus on the 100 m event, coupled with the media pressure, resulted in speculation that he was vulnerable to Hackett in the 400 m event. Thorpe made a slow start in the final, reaching the 100 m mark one second outside world record pace. In a topsy-turvy performance at irregular pace, there were multiple changes of lead before Thorpe established a body-length lead by 350 m. He was closed down by Hackett, holding on by only 0.26 s in a time three seconds outside his own world record.[208][209]

With Klim recently returning from a two-year injury layoff, and Callus ill, Thorpe could only anchor Australia to sixth in the 4 × 100 m freestyle relay.[210] The 200 m began with van den Hoogenband again attacking immediately, reaching the 100 m mark more than a second under the world record split, with Thorpe half a body length behind. Thorpe gradually reduced the lead before passing van den Hoogenband in the last 50 m to win The Race of the Century by half a body length, in a new Olympic record of 1 min 44.71 s.[211] Having achieved what had eluded him four years earlier, Thorpe reacted emotionally, immediately tearing off his cap, punching the air and screaming.[212] The next day saw six years of Australian victory in the 4 × 200 m freestyle relay ended when Hackett, Klim and Sprenger had put Thorpe into the final leg 1.48 s behind Keller. Thorpe gradually reduced the margin but was unable to pass Keller in the last lap, the United States touching 0.13 s earlier.[213][214] Thorpe found himself on the other side of a close result when he qualified last for the 100 m freestyle by 0.01 s. He capitalised in the final by coming from sixth at the 50 m mark to win bronze medal in a personal best of 48.56 s,[189][215] making him the only person to medal in the 100–200–400 combination in Olympic history.[4] After the Athens Olympics, Thorpe took a break from competitive swimming, skipping the 2005 World Aquatics Championships.

2006: Attempted return and retirement

 
Ian Thorpe Aquatic Centre in Ultimo, Sydney

Thorpe returned to competition at the New South Wales Championships in December 2005. He raced in the 200 m and stated his intention to retire after the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.[216] Thorpe announced that due to a desire to concentrate on the 100 m freestyle, he had dropped his pet event, the 400 m. He was unmoved by national coach Alan Thompson, who implored him to continue swimming the event.[217] In February, Thorpe qualified for the 2006 Commonwealth Games by winning the 100 m and 200 m freestyle in times of 49.24 s and 1 min 46.42 s respectively. He expressed disappointment with his performances; he speculated that he may have misjudged his new training schedule and anticipated further improvement.[218][219]

Soon after, Thorpe announced his withdrawal from the Commonwealth Games due to a bout of bronchitis, which had stopped him from training.[220][221] Thorpe's illness was later diagnosed as a strain of glandular fever,[222] and after a further delay caused by a broken hand, he moved to the United States in July to work with Dave Salo. Further disruption followed when the Australian switched coaches, citing excessive and ongoing media attention.[223] Thorpe's stay was constantly surrounded by rumours that he was suffering from ill discipline; this fuelled speculation that his international career was on the decline.[224][225]

Upon his return to Australia, Thorpe withdrew from the selection trials for the 2007 World Championships and announced his retirement on 21 November 2006.[226] Thorpe said that he had been contemplating retirement for some time, but was afraid of the future because swimming had given him a "safety blanket".[227] Thorpe stated that he retired despite reaching higher levels of fitness, noting "As I got fit, physically fit, my mind also got fit".[227] He said a clear mind allowed him to reach his decision. He was close to tears when thanking the Australian public, but declared that his retirement was a "joyous" occasion of celebration.[227]

In 2007, the French sports newspaper L'Équipe claimed that Thorpe "showed 'abnormal levels' of two banned substances in a doping test" in 2006 prior to his retirement.[228][229] Thorpe denied the charges. The Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA) confirmed that they had investigated Thorpe in the past, for abnormal levels of testosterone and luteinising hormone (LH), but had dismissed the result.[230][231] FINA dropped its investigation and closed the case.[232] Thorpe has never been found to have used banned substances, and has denied allegations against him while also speaking out against drug use. He has called for the introduction of blood testing, promised to surrender a frozen sample for retrospective testing and repeatedly criticised FINA for drug-testing procedures that he regards as inadequate.[31][79][233]

Comeback (2011–2012)

In February 2011, Thorpe announced that he would come out of retirement and attempt to qualify for the 2012 Olympics in London.[234][235] Thorpe's major focus was the 100 m and 200 m freestyle at 2012's trials, stating he could offer the most value to the Australian team in the relays. He would not swim the 400 m, claiming he would not have enough time to build up endurance for that event.[236]

Thorpe swam the 100 m butterfly and 100 m medley in Singapore (4–5 November) and Beijing (8–9 November) before also taking on the 100 m freestyle in the Tokyo (12–13 November) round of the 2011 FINA Swimming World Cup.[237]

2012: Australian Olympic Trials and aftermath

Thorpe's comeback attempt in the 200 m freestyle came to an abrupt end on Day Two of Australia's Olympic Trials in Adelaide, on 16 March 2012. No longer allowed to wear the full-body racing suit (covering from neck to ankles and wrists) banned by FINA rule changes, he competed wearing just the "jammer" (hip to thigh) racing shorts. He swam very well in the morning heats, cruising to 1:49.18, a time which placed him equal fifth fastest. However, in the semi-finals that evening he faded over the last 100 meters, finishing in 12th place at 1:49.91. Speaking to reporters immediately afterwards, Thorpe said, "The last 100 was a struggle, I'm not sure why. This was slower than what I swam this morning, probably the inexperience of racing in the last 18 months held me up. The fairytale has turned into a nightmare."[238] In the 100 m freestyle on day 3 (17 March), Thorpe won his heat (the 9th of 12) but failed to break 50 seconds and did not advance to the semi-finals with the top 16 sprinters. Thus, his bid to qualify for the London Olympics officially ended.

 
Ian Thorpe's hand prints at the Sydney Aquatic Centre.

It was subsequently announced that Thorpe was targeting qualification for the 2013 World Championships in Barcelona[239] and later the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow,[240] but was forced to abandon his plans due to a shoulder injury.[241]

Athletic attributes

Thorpe's success has been attributed to his work ethic, mental strength, powerful kick, ability to accelerate and a physiology suited to swimming. This led former Australian head coach Don Talbot to label him as "the greatest swimmer the world has seen".[242] Although Swimming World labelled Thorpe's technique as "extraordinary" and "superior",[243] Talbot disagreed, stating his belief that Thorpe relied on his kick too heavily at the expense of his arms. He also cited Thorpe's ability to manage his workload and his day-to-day recovery between races during a meet as a deficiency.[242] Thorpe was known for using his trademark six-beat kick to power away from his rivals in the closing stages of races, the effectiveness of which was attributed to his unusually large size 17 feet.[31][244]

Following his retirement, head coach of the US men's swimming team Bob Bowman—who also mentors Michael Phelps—called Thorpe "the greatest middle-distance swimmer of all time and...the greatest relay swimmer I have seen".[245] Bowman further cited Thorpe's ability to raise the profile and popularity of swimming, noting that Phelps' public image was modelled on that of the Australian. Australian Olympic Committee President John Coates stated that "In 50 years from now Australians will still marvel at the feats of Ian Thorpe".[245] Dawn Fraser, the first of only two swimmers to win the same Olympic event three times, said that Thorpe was the "greatest [freestyle] swimmer in the world",[244][245] and lamented that he would not be attempting a hat-trick of 400 m titles.[244][245]

Honours

 
Plaque of Ian Thorpe Outside Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre.

Aside from his swimming achievements, Thorpe has received numerous honours and accolades during his life, including:

Post-swimming career

Thorpe presented a two-part television documentary called Bullied on ABC Television, using hidden-camera footage to give a victim's-eye-view of bullying. It aired 14 March 2017.[257][258][259] In 2021, Thorpe competed in Celebrity MasterChef Australia (series 2) and was fourth to be eliminated.[260][261] During the series, the judges referred to Thorpe having written two cookbooks, "Cook For Your Life", published in 2011 and "Eat Well Now", released in 2016.[262]

Personal life

Sexuality

In a July 2014 televised interview with British talk show host Michael Parkinson, Thorpe came out as gay, after years of denying his homosexuality publicly.[263][264][265][266][267] He stated "I'm comfortable saying I'm a gay man. And I don't want people to feel the same way I did. You can grow up, you can be comfortable and you can be gay." He added "I am telling the world that I am gay… and I hope this makes it easier for others now, and even if you've held it in for years, it feels easier to get it out."[268][269] In 2016 he began dating model Ryan Channing.[270] In December 2017, he said he did not plan to marry his boyfriend "any time soon".[271] He would like to become a father.[272]

In June 2019, Thorpe split with Channing.[273][274][275] Channing later died in Bali, Indonesia in May 2022.[276][277]

In September 2020, the International Olympic Committee published a question and answer format interview with Thorpe, which touched on his sexual orientation and some of the challenges he faced due to his homosexuality in competitive swimming.[278]

Activism

In the lead up to the Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey, Thorpe campaigned for a 'yes' vote, encouraging people to enroll to vote at the City2Surf.[279] He later appeared in a campaign advertisement with his partner saying Thorpe could update his electoral details faster than he could swim 100 metres.[280]

Sponsorship

 
Thorpe (left) with fans in 2000.

Thorpe is known for his interests in fashion, and serves as an ambassador for Armani,[11][281] and has his own line of designer jewellery and underwear.[281] During his career, Thorpe was one of the most prominent and popular sportspeople in Australia. Despite competing in a sport in which the vast majority of international athletes' earnings are below the poverty line,[282] marketing surveys consistently ranked Thorpe as the most sought-after Australian athlete for sponsorship deals, surpassing footballers who compete on a weekly basis in much larger stadia.[282] Aside from his swimsuit sponsor Adidas, Thorpe was sponsored by Australian corporate giants such as Qantas, Telstra, and the Seven Network.[264][283]

Thorpe's interests in fashion and culture led him to make frequent visits to New York City—which he describes as a second home—often for engagements with Armani and particularly because of the city's status as a global fashion capital.[11][281][284] He was present at the World Trade Center on the morning of 11 September 2001, having stopped there on his jog, before returning to his hotel after forgetting his camera.[11][285] It was during this trip that he appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, which was notable because of the relative lack of interest in competitive swimming in America.[281][286] Thorpe later became a spokesperson for the unsuccessful New York bid for the 2012 Summer Olympics, even promising to continue his career until the games if New York won the hosting rights.[287] Thorpe's interests have also seen him involved in television. In 2002, he played the lead role in the reality television show Undercover Angels, which imitated the Charlie's Angels series. In the program, Thorpe directed three young women who performed good deeds for people in need.[281] Although it averaged more than a million viewers per episode, it was widely panned by critics.[264][281][288] Thorpe has also appeared as an extra in the American sitcom Friends.[11][281][289]

Thorpe is widely popular in Asia, particularly Japan. In 2000, TV Asahi identified him as the swimmer likely to be the most successful at the 2001 World Championships in Fukuoka, so they selected him as the event's marketing figurehead. In the lead-up, Thorpe visited Japan to promote Asahi in a series of television events,[7][290] and upon returning for the competition, he was mobbed at the airport by youthful crowds 25 m deep; hundreds camped outside the Australian team's hotel.[291][292] He was also praised by older sections of Japanese society as a role model for youth, due to what they interpreted as his humility and work ethic.[264][291] It was estimated that more than 80% of the Japanese public watched his races on television.[293] In 2002, in the wake of a tourism slump after 11 September terrorist attacks, Thorpe agreed to be an ambassador for the Australian Tourism Commission in Japan. The high-profile campaign included a meeting with the Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. The marketing drive resulted in an upturn in Japanese tourism to Australia, which was credited to Thorpe.[294][295][296][297] In 2005, Yakult released a 'Thorpedo' energy drink—which featured a picture of the swimmer on the bottle—in Japan.[298] This was part of an equity deal with the So Natural food group, in which Thorpe was given a 5% stake in the company—at the time worth A$1.1 m—in return for the use of his name and image on their products. The 15-year deal covers East and Southeast Asia and Thorpe's share in the venture could increase to 50% depending on its success.[295][299]

Philanthropy

 
Ian Thorpe, Cathy Freeman and Jeff McMullen were among some of the speakers at the Close the Gap launch.

More recently, Thorpe has also emerged as a philanthropist, starting the charity Ian Thorpe's Fountain for Youth in 2000.[300][301][302] The organisation raises funds for research into childhood illnesses and sponsors a school in Beijing for orphaned children with disabilities.[303][304] In addition, it works with The Fred Hollows Foundation to improve health standards and living conditions in Australian aboriginal communities.[7][303][305] Citing a wish to "...work directly with our Aboriginal partners and not compete for the meagre funding available from public and corporate donations" the organisation was liquidated in 2014.[306]

Depression

In 2014, it was confirmed that Thorpe had been admitted to a rehabilitation clinic after neighbours found him dazed near his parents' Panania home. Thorpe was taken to Bankstown Hospital by police before being admitted to a rehabilitation clinic.[307] In his 2012 autobiography This is Me, Thorpe stated he had considered suicide and had drunk 'huge quantities' of alcohol to deal with 'crippling depression'.[308][309][310]

See also

Published works

  • Thorpe, Ian; Wainwright, Robert (25 October 2012). This is Me. Simon and Schuster Australia (published 2012). ISBN 978-1-4711-0122-9.

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Bibliography

External links

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ian Thorpe.
Records
Preceded by Men's 400-metre freestyle
world record holder (long course)
22 August 1999 – 26 July 2009 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Men's 200-metre freestyle
world record holder (long course)
23 August 1999 – 17 September 2000
27 March 2001 – 27 March 2007 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Men's 800-metre freestyle
world record holder (long course)
26 March 2001 – 27 July 2005 		Succeeded by
Awards and achievements
Preceded by Young Australian of the Year
2000 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Swimming World
Swimmer of the Year
1998–1999
2001–2002 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Swimming World Pacific Rim
Swimmer of the Year
1998–2002
2004 		Succeeded by

September 24, 2023
thorpe, james, thorpe, born, october, 1982, australian, retired, swimmer, specialised, freestyle, also, competed, backstroke, individual, medley, five, olympic, gold, medals, most, australian, along, with, fellow, swimmer, emma, mckeon, with, three, gold, silv. Ian James Thorpe AM born 13 October 1982 is an Australian retired 1 swimmer who specialised in freestyle but also competed in backstroke and the individual medley He has won five Olympic gold medals the most won by any Australian along with fellow swimmer Emma McKeon With three gold and two silver medals Thorpe was the most successful athlete at the 2000 Summer Olympics held in his hometown of Sydney Ian ThorpeAMThorpe at Doha GOALS Forum 2012Personal informationFull nameIan James ThorpeNickname s Thorpedo Thorpey National team AustraliaBorn 1982 10 13 13 October 1982 age 40 Sydney AustraliaHeight1 96 m 6 ft 5 in Weight104 kg 229 lb SportSportSwimmingStrokesFreestyleClubSLC AquadotCoachDoug Frost 1995 2002 Tracey Menzies 2002 2006 Medal record Men s swimmingRepresenting AustraliaEvent 1st 2nd 3rdOlympic Games 5 3 1World Championships LC 11 1 1World Championships SC 2 1 0Pan Pacific Championships 9 3 0Commonwealth Games 10 1 0Total 37 9 2Olympic Games2000 Sydney 400 m freestyle2000 Sydney 4 100 m free2000 Sydney 4 200 m free2004 Athens 200 m freestyle2004 Athens 400 m freestyle2000 Sydney 200 m freestyle2000 Sydney 4 100 m medley2004 Athens 4 200 m free2004 Athens 100 m freestyleWorld Championships LC 1998 Perth 400 m freestyle1998 Perth 4 200 m free2001 Fukuoka 200 m freestyle2001 Fukuoka 400 m freestyle2001 Fukuoka 800 m freestyle2001 Fukuoka 4 100 m free2001 Fukuoka 4 200 m free2001 Fukuoka 4 100 m medley2003 Barcelona 200 m freestyle2003 Barcelona 400 m freestyle2003 Barcelona 4 200 m free2003 Barcelona 200 m medley2003 Barcelona 100 m freestyleWorld Championships SC 1999 Hong Kong 200 m freestyle1999 Hong Kong 4 100 m free1999 Hong Kong 400 m freestylePan Pacific Championships1999 Sydney 200 m freestyle1999 Sydney 400 m freestyle1999 Sydney 4 100 m free1999 Sydney 4 200 m free2002 Yokohama 100 m freestyle2002 Yokohama 200 m freestyle2002 Yokohama 400 m freestyle2002 Yokohama 4 100 m free2002 Yokohama 4 200 m free1997 Fukuoka 400 m freestyle1997 Fukuoka 4 200 m free2002 Yokohama 4 100 m medleyCommonwealth Games1998 Kuala Lumpur 200 m freestyle1998 Kuala Lumpur 400 m freestyle1998 Kuala Lumpur 4 100 m free1998 Kuala Lumpur 4 200 m free2002 Manchester 100 m freestyle2002 Manchester 200 m freestyle2002 Manchester 400 m freestyle2002 Manchester 4 100 m free2002 Manchester 4 200 m free2002 Manchester 4 100 m medley2002 Manchester 100 m backstrokeAt the age of 14 Thorpe became the youngest male ever to represent Australia 2 and his victory in the 400 metre freestyle at the 1998 Perth World Championships made him the youngest ever individual male World Champion 3 After that victory Thorpe dominated the 400 m freestyle winning the event at every Olympic World Commonwealth and Pan Pacific Swimming Championships until his break after the 2004 Olympics in Athens 4 At the 2001 World Aquatics Championships he became the first person to win six gold medals in one World Championship 5 Aside from 13 individual long course world records Thorpe anchored the Australian relay teams numbering the victories in the 4 100 m and the 4 200 m freestyle relays in Sydney among his five relay world records His wins in the 200 m and 400 m and his bronze in the 100 m freestyle at the 2004 Summer Olympics made him the only male to have won medals in the 100 200 400 combination 4 He acquired the nickname Thorpedo because of his speed in swimming Thorpe announced his retirement from competitive swimming in November 2006 citing waning motivation 6 he made a brief comeback in 2011 and 2012 In total Thorpe has won eleven World Championship gold medals this is the fifth highest number of gold medals won by any male swimmer 7 Thorpe was the first person to have been named Swimming World Swimmer of the Year four times 8 9 and was the Australian Swimmer of the Year from 1999 to 2003 His athletic achievements made him one of Australia s most popular athletes and he was recognised as the Young Australian of the Year in 2000 10 Contents 1 Early years 1 1 National competition 2 Early international career 1997 1998 2 1 International debut 1997 2 2 1998 World Aquatics Championships 2 3 1998 Commonwealth Games 3 Record breaking years 1999 2002 3 1 1999 Pan Pacific Championships 3 2 2000 Olympic build up 3 3 2000 Summer Olympics 3 4 2001 World Aquatics Championships 3 5 2002 Commonwealth Games and Pan Pacific Championships 4 Tracey Menzies era 2003 2006 4 1 2003 World Aquatics Championships 4 2 2004 Summer Olympics 4 3 2006 Attempted return and retirement 5 Comeback 2011 2012 5 1 2012 Australian Olympic Trials and aftermath 6 Athletic attributes 7 Honours 8 Post swimming career 9 Personal life 9 1 Sexuality 9 2 Activism 9 3 Sponsorship 9 4 Philanthropy 9 5 Depression 10 See also 11 Published works 12 References 13 Bibliography 14 External linksEarly yearsBorn in Sydney Thorpe grew up in the suburb of Milperra and hailed from a sporting family 11 His father Ken was a promising cricketer at junior level representing Bankstown District Cricket Club in Sydney s district competition 11 12 13 A talented batsman he once topped the season s batting averages ahead of former Australian captain Bob Simpson However paternal pressure detracted from Ken s enjoyment of cricket and he retired at the age of 26 14 Thorpe s mother Margaret played A grade netball 12 15 but he did not inherit his parents ball skills 13 His elder sister Christina was advised to take up swimming to strengthen a broken wrist so by chance the five year old Thorpe followed her into the pool 12 13 16 Due to his unhappy experiences Ken Thorpe regarded enjoyment as the most critical aspect of his children s participation in sport 15 A large baby Thorpe weighed 4 1 kg 9 0 lb and measured 59 cm 1 ft 11 in in length at birth 17 As a young child Thorpe was sidelined by an allergy to chlorine 3 As a result he did not swim in his first race until a school carnival at the age of seven 18 The allergy forced Thorpe to swim with his head out of the water despite this ungainly technique he won the race primarily because of his significant size advantage 11 19 20 Thorpe gradually overcame the ailment and progressed to the captaincy of New South Wales for the Australian Primary Schools Championships in 1994 21 He subsequently won nine individual gold medals at the New South Wales Short Course Age Championships in September of the same year 22 In 1995 Thorpe started his secondary education at East Hills Boys Technology High School 11 23 and switched coaches to swim alongside his sister under the tutelage of Doug Frost 20 It was a busy year for the family Christina was selected for the Australian team to compete at the 1995 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in Atlanta 24 Now six feet tall Ian competed at his first Australian Age Championships winning bronze medals in the 200 m and 400 m freestyle He won all ten events at the New South Wales Age Championships 3 25 26 National competition Thorpe competed at the 1996 Australian Age Championships in Brisbane winning five gold two silver and two bronze medals 4 His times in the 400 m freestyle and 200 m backstroke qualified him for the Australian Championships 27 which doubled as selection trials for the 1996 Atlanta Olympics Frost knew that Thorpe had no realistic chance of making the top two in any event which would have meant Olympic selection at only 13 years and six months He sent Thorpe to Sydney merely to gain competition experience at senior national level 27 As expected Thorpe missed selection he finished 23rd in the 400 m freestyle and 36th in the 200 m backstroke 27 At the end of the year Thorpe qualified for the Australian Short Course Championships It was another chance to gain national selection as the event served as the selection trials for the 1997 FINA World Swimming Championships Thorpe qualified in second place in the heats of the 400 m individual medley and reached his first national final 28 However he swam more slowly in the final and missed selection 28 At the New South Wales Championships in January 1997 Thorpe s time of 3 min 59 43 s in the 400 m was eight seconds faster than his previous personal best 28 it made him the first 14 year old to cover the distance in less than four minutes on Australian soil Ranked fourth for the event countrywide 28 Thorpe went into the Australian Championships in Adelaide as a serious contender for selection in the national team for the 1997 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in Fukuoka Japan With a top three finish and a specific qualifying time required for selection Thorpe focused on the 400 m freestyle after injuries to world record holder Kieren Perkins and Daniel Kowalski both had won Olympic medals in the event Thorpe went on to win bronze behind 16 year old Queenslander Grant Hackett setting a new personal best of 3 min 53 44 s 29 The time was a world record for his age group and the race was the first of many battles with Hackett 29 Aged 14 years and 5 months Thorpe became the 463rd 30 and youngest ever male to be selected for the Australian team 3 20 surpassing John Konrads record by one month 31 Frost said that Thorpe s selection catalysed his eventual focus on freestyle Thorpe continued his good form at the Australian Age Championships He contested all twelve events winning ten individual gold and two bronze medals 32 He set six Australian records in the process 12 29 Early international career 1997 1998 International debut 1997 1997 Pan Pacific Championships nbsp 400 m freestyle 3 49 64 nbsp 4 200 m freestyle 7 15 72In June 1997 two months before the Pan Pacific Championships Thorpe required an appendix operation which caused him to miss two weeks of training 33 Upon reaching Japan Thorpe placed fourth in his heat of the 200 m freestyle with a new personal best time of 1 min 51 46 s 34 Thorpe s time was not enough to qualify for the final but earned him selection in the 4 200 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 34 In his first individual final at international level Thorpe was fifth at the 300 m mark but fought back to claim silver in the 400 m freestyle behind Hackett in a time of 3 min 49 64 s 3 35 36 37 His finishing burst was to become a trademark and his time would have been enough to win silver at the Atlanta Olympics 2 12 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 Thorpe gained selection for the world championships by finishing fourth and second in the 200 m and 400 m freestyle respectively He set new personal bests in both events 38 1998 World Aquatics Championships 1998 World Championships nbsp 400 m freestyle 3 46 29 nbsp 4 200 m freestyle 7 12 45Thorpe s first international appearance in his home country at the 1998 World Championships in Perth began with the 4 200 m freestyle relay Swimming the third leg after Klim and Hackett Thorpe broke away from 200 m butterfly Olympic champion Tom Malchow to set a split time of 1 min 47 67 s just 0 26 seconds slower than Klim s winning time in the 200 m final 39 By the end of Thorpe s leg the Australians were two seconds ahead of the world record pace and three seconds ahead of the Americans having extended the lead by two body lengths Although anchorman Kowalski finished outside the world record 40 it was the first time that Australia had won the event at the global level since 1956 4 Thorpe was ranked fourth in the world before the 400 m final which Hackett led from the outset Hackett established a comfortable 2 29 s lead over Thorpe by the 300 m mark and although Thorpe reduced the margin to 1 53 s at the 350 m mark Hackett led until Thorpe passed him on the final stroke 41 Thorpe s time was the fourth fastest in history and made him the youngest ever male individual world champion aged 15 years and 3 months 3 35 36 42 As a result of the media attention generated by his win on home soil Thorpe received multiple offers for television commercials and was often surrounded by autograph hunters 43 He became a high profile supporter of the Children s Cancer Institute after his sister Christina s future brother in law Michael Williams became gravely ill with cancer 44 45 1998 Commonwealth Games 1998 Commonwealth Games nbsp 200 m freestyle 1 46 70 nbsp 400 m freestyle 3 44 35 nbsp 4 100 m freestyle 3 17 83 nbsp 4 200 m freestyle 7 11 86 WR Thorpe s next competition was in March at the Australian Championships in Melbourne which were selection trials for the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Malaysia Thorpe s improvement continued when he defeated Klim in the 200 m freestyle in 1 min 47 24 s faster than Klim s winning time at the World Championship two months earlier 46 Thorpe s time was a Commonwealth record 47 and with it he secured his first national title He then claimed the 400 m freestyle title from Hackett and clocked 50 36 s in the 100 m freestyle His time earned silver in his first 100 m race at the national level gaining him Commonwealth selection in three individual events 48 Thorpe s rise continued when the Australians arrived in Kuala Lumpur during September for the Commonwealth Games Thorpe s first event was the 200 m freestyle where he led throughout to record a time just one hundredth of a second outside Giorgio Lamberti s world record 49 He then combined with Klim Kowalski and Matt Dunn in the 4 200 m freestyle relay to break the world record of the Unified Team set in 1992 by 0 09 s 50 Thorpe s run ended when a personal best of 50 21 s in the 100 m freestyle was only sufficient for fourth place but he returned to victory with the 4 100 m freestyle relay team 49 He claimed a fourth gold in the 400 m freestyle setting another personal best just 0 55 s slower than Kieren Perkins 1994 mark 3 4 51 52 53 Thorpe left school at the end of the year after completing Year 10 His decision caused concerns that concentrating on swimming alone could lead to burn out 54 Thorpe disagreed pointing to his informal search for knowledge stating that Swimming is a small part of my life 54 His impact in the swimming community was acknowledged when he became the youngest male swimmer to be named as the Swimming World Swimmer of the Year 54 Record breaking years 1999 2002 1999 World Short Course Championships nbsp 200 m freestyle 1 43 28 WR nbsp 4 100 m freestyle 3 11 21 nbsp 400 m freestyle 3 35 64The year 1999 began with heavy media expectations that Thorpe would inevitably break both 200 m and 400 m world records given his continuing physical growth The first opportunity came in late March at the 1999 Australian Championships in Brisbane which doubled as a selection event for the 1999 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships Thorpe again won the 400 m but Perkins record eluded him this time by just 0 05 s 55 Hackett turned the tables in the 200 m event passing Thorpe in the final 50 m to win Thorpe s title 35 Although both were outside Lamberti s mark Hackett went on to break it the following night in a relay event 56 57 Thorpe finished the Championships by continuing his improvement in the 100 m freestyle posting a time of 49 98 s his first under the 50 s barrier The Australian team then travelled to Hong Kong for the 1999 World Short Course Championships where Thorpe broke Lamberti s mark in the 200 m freestyle the longest standing world record at the time However Hackett defeated him in the 400 m 3 58 This was the start of a three year phase where Thorpe was to set his 13 individual long course world records He led the men s relay team to unprecedented success in relay events scoring historic victories over the Americans Thorpe was to peak in 2001 when he became the first person to win six gold medals at one world championships setting three world records and helping Australia top the medal tally at a global meet for the first time since 1956 In this period he was named Swimming World Swimmer of the Year three times 7 8 4 1999 Pan Pacific Championships 1999 Pan Pacific Championships nbsp 200 m freestyle 1 46 00 WR nbsp 400 m freestyle 3 41 83 WR nbsp 4 100 m freestyle 3 16 08 nbsp 4 200 m freestyle 7 08 70 WR The 1999 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships were held in August at Sydney Olympic Park and were viewed as a rehearsal for the 2000 Summer Olympics to be held in the same venue With Thorpe expected to deliver world records at his first international meet in Sydney the event was shown live on Australian television for the first time The opening night saw him pitted against Hackett and South Africa s Ryk Neethling in the 400 m freestyle final 59 The trio reached the 200 m mark in a group on world record pace before Thorpe broke away recording a split time 1 86 s ahead of world record pace at 300 m He extended his lead to four body lengths by the 350 m mark and finished in a time of 3 min 41 83 s cutting almost two seconds from the world record 4 53 60 and covering the second half in almost the same time as the first 61 62 Talbot reacted to the performance by dubbing Thorpe as the greatest swimmer we ve Australia ever had 63 whilst four time American Olympic gold medalist Rowdy Gaines commentating for NBC said he went into a balls out sprint at 250 and I have never seen anything like that I have been around swimming a long time and it s the most amazing swim I ve ever seen hands down 60 63 A formula used by the International Swimming Statisticians Association to compare world records in different events gave his performance the highest score of all current world records 64 Thorpe promptly donated the A 25 000 prize money for breaking the first world record in the pool to charity 7 3 65 66 Later the same night Thorpe anchored the Australians to a historic victory in the 4 100 m freestyle final 60 65 the first time the United States had lost the event Thorpe set an Australian record relay split of 48 55 s Even taking into account a 0 6 0 7 s for a flying relay start his split time was almost 1 s faster than his individual best of 49 98 s 61 It was to be the first of many occasions in which he would anchor the Australian relay teams to victory over the Americans with splits consistently faster than his equivalent individual times 67 The following night in the semi finals of the 200 m freestyle Thorpe broke Hackett s world record by 0 33 s clocking 1 min 46 34 s 4 68 The next day in the final he again broke the record 53 lowering it to 1 min 46 0 s 4 69 70 He finished his competition by leading off the 4 200 m freestyle team with Klim Hackett and Bill Kirby to victory Their time lowered their own world record by more than three seconds completing Thorpe s fourth world record in four nights 3 4 35 71 72 73 Immediately after the Pan Pacific Championships Thorpe s management announced his signing to Adidas for an undisclosed six figure sum stating that he would race in their new bodysuit This presented a dilemma as the national team was sponsored and wore outfits designed by Speedo leading to months of protracted discussions and uncertainty 74 To compound his commercial difficulties Thorpe had an uncertain end to the sporting year when in October he broke a bone in his ankle whilst jogging 75 However his performance throughout the year was recognised when he was again named as the World Swimmer of the Year by Swimming World and by Swimming Australia as its Swimmer of the Year In a wider arena he was named Young Australian of the Year 10 ABC Sports Star of the Year and Male Athlete of the Year at the Australian Sports Awards 3 76 77 2000 Olympic build up Thorpe started 2000 looking to add a third individual event to his Olympic schedule He explored his options by contesting the 1500 m freestyle at the New South Wales Championships in January which he won 78 Thorpe embarked on a European FINA World Cup tour to hone his racecraft but this was overshadowed by comments made by German head coach Manfred Thiesmann accusing him of using steroids 79 80 81 Thiseman claimed that Thorpe s physical attributes were symptomatic of steroid use and that his ability to exceed prior records believed to be drug fuelled made his feats worthy of suspicion 31 79 Thorpe s difficulties heightened at the subsequent German leg of the tour in Berlin when a standoff over a drug test arose when officials wanted to take an unsealed sample due to lack of containers After the standoff was resolved 82 83 84 Thorpe proceeded to cut more than 1 5 s from his world short course record in the 200 m freestyle 85 Given the context of the race Thorpe rated it as his best ever performance ahead of his victories at Olympic and World level 83 86 87 On returning from Europe Thorpe faced further uncertainty until he was granted permission to wear his Adidas suit instead of the Australian uniforms provided by Speedo 88 With the past uncertainties resolved Thorpe proceeded to the Olympic selection trials at Sydney Olympic Park in May 2000 He again broke his 400 m world record on the first night of racing 89 lowering it to 3 min 41 33 s to earn his first Olympic selection 4 90 91 The following day he lowered his 200 m world record to 1 min 45 69 s in the semi finals 92 93 94 before lowering it again to 1 min 45 51 s in the final 4 95 96 97 His attempt to secure a third individual berth failed after he finished fourth in the final of the 100 m and withdrew from the 1500 m 98 99 100 2000 Summer Olympics 2000 Summer Olympics nbsp 400 m freestyle 3 40 59 WR nbsp 4 100 m freestyle 3 13 67 WR nbsp 4 200 m freestyle 7 07 05 WR nbsp 200 m freestyle 1 45 83 nbsp 4 100 m medley 3 35 27Entering the Olympics the Australian public expected Thorpe to deliver multiple world records and gold medals as a formality Sydney s Daily Telegraph posted a front page spread headlined Invincible 101 102 Thorpe cruised through the heats of the 400 m on the first morning of competition posting a new Olympic record and shortening bookmakers odds to 50 1 101 103 104 By the time the final was held that night the pressure had intensified the host nation had yet to win its first gold medal Thorpe led throughout and although Italy s Massimiliano Rosolino was within a body length at the 300 m mark Thorpe s finishing kick extended the final margin to three body lengths 105 This set a new world record of 3 min 40 59 s 106 107 Secret tests carried out by the Italian National Olympic Committee prior to the Olympics later showed that Rosolino had abnormal levels of human growth hormone 108 109 Rosolino aside Thorpe had left bronze medallist Klete Keller fifteen metres in arrears 109 Thorpe lined up later in the night alongside Klim Chris Fydler and Ashley Callus to anchor the 4 100 m freestyle relay an event which the Americans had never lost at Olympic level The third leg ended with Australia only an arm s length ahead of the United States 110 Thorpe timed his dive much better than Gary Hall Jr and surfaced a body length ahead Hall s sprinting ability allowed him to open a lead by the final turn 111 112 but Thorpe s finishing kick overhauled him in the final metres sparking wild celebrations amongst the partisan crowd 4 106 113 Prior to the 4 100 m freestyle relay Hall posted on his blog My biased opinion says that we will smash them Australia s 4x100m team like guitars Historically the U S has always risen to the occasion But the logic in that remote area of my brain says it won t be so easy for the United States to dominate the waters this time The Australian team responded to Hall s remarks after the race by playing air guitar on the pool deck Hall recalled the race saying I don t even know how to play the guitar I consider it the best relay race I ve ever been part of I doff my cap to the great Ian Thorpe He had a better finish than I had 114 Another member of Australia s victorious 4x100 team Michael Klim recalled that Hall was the first swimmer to come over and congratulate us Even though he dished it out he was a true sportsman When Thorpe broke the 200 m freestyle Olympic record in the heats the following morning 115 his main rival Pieter van den Hoogenband of the Netherlands with World No 2 ranked and teammate Michael Kim bypassing the 200 metres conceded defeat 116 117 However van den Hoogenband showed his hand in the semi finals by cutting more than a second off his personal best to set a new world record of 1 min 45 35 s Thorpe qualified second with a personal best of his own 0 02 s slower 117 118 and was under immense pressure to win the final the following day after his double gold on the first night 119 120 Van den Hoogenband started quickly and Thorpe chased him reaching the 100 m mark just 0 04 s behind Both swimmers turned at 150 m in identical times As a result of starting harder than usual Thorpe faded as van den Hoogenband drew away to claim gold and equal his world record stunning the home crowd Thorpe touched in 1 min 45 83 s the first time that he had swum slower in the final than in the qualifying rounds 121 122 123 Thorpe would never lose to van den Hoogenband in a long course 200 metres race again Thorpe returned to victory when he led off the 4 200 m freestyle relay the following night setting up a 10 m lead over American Scott Goldblatt in the first leg Although Thorpe was unable to reclaim the individual world record 124 he Klim Kirby and Todd Pearson lowered their world record to 7 min 07 05 s 125 over five seconds ahead of the Americans the largest winning margin in an Olympic relay for half a century 126 127 Thorpe rounded off his Olympics by swimming in the heats of the 4 100 m medley relay and collected a silver medal when the finals quartet finished behind the Americans 4 128 129 Thorpe s performances as Australia s leading medalist for the Games were recognised when the Australian Olympic Committee granted him the honour of carrying the flag at the closing ceremony 128 130 131 With three gold and two silver medals Thorpe was the most successful athlete at the 2000 Olympic Games At year s end he was again named by Swimming Australia as the Swimmer of the Year but van den Hoogenband usurped him as the leading male swimmer chosen by Swimming World Magazine 132 2001 World Aquatics Championships 2001 World Championships nbsp 200 m freestyle 1 44 06 WR nbsp 400 m freestyle 3 40 17 WR nbsp 800 m freestyle 7 39 16 WR nbsp 4 100 m freestyle 3 14 10 nbsp 4 200 m freestyle 7 04 66 WR nbsp 4 100 m medley 3 35 35With the 2001 Australian Championships held in Hobart in March Thorpe added the 800 m freestyle to his repertoire after FINA had added the event for the 2001 World Aquatics Championships 133 Thorpe began his campaign by successfully defending his 400 m title with a time just 0 17 s outside his world record 134 135 136 The following night in the 800 m event he drew away from Hackett in the last 100 m to break Kieren Perkins 1994 world record by over four seconds 4 135 137 138 He earned his third title by cutting 0 66 s from van den Hoogenband s 200 m world record to set a new mark of 1 min 44 69 s 4 135 139 This performance made him the third male after John Konrads and Tim Shaw to hold world records over three distances simultaneously 140 His subsequent victory in the 100 m freestyle in a new personal best of 49 05 s made him the first since Konrads in 1959 to hold all Australian freestyle titles from 100 m to 800 m 135 141 This indicated that he could swim faster at the subsequent World Championships in Fukuoka where he was looking to regain the ascendancy from van den Hoogenband 7 4 142 143 Thorpe arrived in Fukuoka having been chosen by broadcaster TV Asahi as the marketing drawcard of the event 144 With the 4 100 m freestyle relay being held after the 400 m freestyle on the first night Thorpe appeared to be conserving energy when he reached the 200 m mark two seconds outside his world record Although he was 0 93 s behind at the final turn a final 50 m burst in 24 36 s saw him cut a further 0 42 s from his world record 145 146 The relay saw him dive in fractionally ahead of American Jason Lezak after Klim Callus and Pearson had completed the first three legs Thorpe fell behind in the early half of the leg before kicking away in the closing stages to seal gold with his fastest ever relay split of 47 87 s 147 148 In the 800 m final he shadowed Hackett for the first 750 m staying within a body length He then broke clear to win by a body length lowering his world record by over two seconds 145 149 150 The 200 m freestyle rematch with van den Hoogenband provided Thorpe with a chance to rectify his strategy from the Olympics this time he allowed the Dutchman to lead through the first 100 m Thorpe pulled even at the 150 m mark and then broke away towards the finishing wall two body lengths clear He lowered his world record to 1 min 44 06 s in the process prompting van den Hoogenband to raise his arm aloft 145 151 152 Thorpe s winning streak was interrupted in the 100 m freestyle when his personal best of 48 81 s placed him fourth 153 but he returned to form in the 4 200 m freestyle relay Anchoring the team of Klim Hackett and Kirby the Australians lowered their world record time by more than two seconds leaving the Italians more than six seconds in arrears 7 154 Having overtaken Klim as Australia s leading 100 m freestyle swimmer Thorpe was entrusted with anchoring the 4 100 m medley relay team on 28 July After Matt Welsh Regan Harrison and Geoff Huegill had finished their legs Thorpe s change left him half a body length behind the new 100 m world champion Anthony Ervin of the United States The Americans were expected to win and with his typically slow start Thorpe turned a body length behind with 50 m remaining With an American victory seeming inevitable Thorpe managed to accelerate and deprive Ervin of the lead in the last 5 m 5 145 155 This made Thorpe the only swimmer to have won six gold medals at a World Championships 4 31 and the first since Shaw in 1974 to win the 200 400 800 treble 145 His performances formed the basis for Australia s gold medal win over the United States 13 9 It was also the first time since the 1956 Summer Olympics that Australia had topped the medal tally at a global meet 156 Thorpe s achievements led to predictions that he could match Mark Spitz s seven gold medals at the 1972 Summer Olympics which he played down 157 2002 Commonwealth Games and Pan Pacific Championships Thorpe began competition in 2002 at the Australian Championships in Brisbane in March which were used to select the team for the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester and the 2002 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships After his record six gold medals in Fukuoka the meet was surrounded by further expectations of world records and speculation that he would match Spitz s seven gold medals 158 His winning time in the 400 m was the second fastest in history but such was the expectation on him that his failure to break a world record was the talking point 159 He claimed the 100 m and 200 m events in times outside his best making it the first time that he had failed to break a world record at a major meet since 1999 160 He also experimented by adding the 100 m backstroke to his repertoire placing second 158 This earned him a Commonwealth spot in a seventh event leading to further media speculation that he could match Spitz 161 2002 Commonwealth Games nbsp 100 m freestyle 48 73 nbsp 200 m freestyle 1 44 71 nbsp 400 m freestyle 3 40 08 WR nbsp 4 100 m freestyle 3 16 42 nbsp 4 200 m freestyle 7 11 69 nbsp 4 100 m medley 3 36 05 nbsp 100 m backstroke 55 38By this time Thorpe s relationship with Frost was beginning to unravel Thorpe had always insisted that his swimming was about enjoyment and improving himself in setting faster times rather than victory or defeat This contrasted with Frost who had a more aggressive and combative mindset often making bold public statements 162 Thorpe ignored Frost s advice and bulked up his upper body by a further 5 kg to 105 kg making him the heaviest elite swimmer in history 163 His reasoning that the strength gains would outweigh any loss in flexibility raised concerns over his physiological strategy 164 On the first night in Manchester Thorpe again lowered his 400 m mark by 0 09 s to 3 min 40 08 s which remains the fastest ever 400m swim not swum in an LZR Racer 4 160 165 before anchoring the 4 100 m freestyle relay team to another gold 166 167 168 Prior to the 200 m final Thorpe was seen arguing with Frost in the warm up area Thorpe won but was unusually angry at having failed to lower his previous best publicly stating that he wasn t with it and that he had one of the worst warm ups ever 166 167 169 Thorpe did manage to lower his personal best in the 100 m freestyle to 48 73 s en route to his fourth gold and anchored the 4 200 m freestyle and 4 100 m medley relays to comfortable victories 166 169 170 When he collected a silver in his first international race in the 100 m backstroke with another personal best behind world champion Matt Welsh 171 he was forced to rebuff media comparisons to Spitz He emphasised personal performance stating I think it s a limiting attitude to be competing against other people when you can be challenging yourself 172 Despite Thorpe s assertion that he could not match Spitz Frost predicted that Thorpe could win nine golds at one Olympics 172 In spite of the media disappointment Thorpe s six gold medals equalled the record set by Susie O Neill completing all in Games or World record time 4 31 160 166 173 174 As a result he was awarded the honour of carrying the flag at the closing ceremony 174 175 2002 Pan Pacific Championships nbsp 100 m freestyle 48 84 nbsp 200 m freestyle 1 44 75 nbsp 400 m freestyle 3 45 28 nbsp 4 100 m freestyle 3 15 41 nbsp 4 200 m freestyle 7 09 00 nbsp 4 100 m medley 3 34 84The Pan Pacific Championships followed in Yokohama less than a month later with media speculation about Thorpe and Frost overshadowing the racing 176 Thorpe began his campaign with a victory over Hackett in the 400 m freestyle in a time five seconds outside his world record Afterwards he revealed that both he and Hackett had deliberately conserved energy for the 4 100 m freestyle relay later in the night 177 Australia subsequently won the relay with Thorpe again overtaking Jason Lezak in the last 50 m 177 178 He subsequently won the 200 m freestyle and anchored the 4 200 m freestyle relay to victory to take his tally to four golds 179 180 After qualifying second in the 100 m freestyle Thorpe came from fourth at the 50 m mark win his fifth gold in a time of 48 84 s 160 181 182 Thorpe s run ended in the 4 100 m medley relay final when despite setting the second fastest ever relay split of 47 20 s Australia were defeated 183 184 Tracey Menzies era 2003 2006 After the 2002 Pan Pacific Championships Thorpe announced that he was splitting with Frost to train with one of his assistants Tracey Menzies who had no prior international experience Admitting that tension existed between him and Frost Thorpe asserted that the split was amicable He cited waning motivation for the split stating I decided I either had to make the change or it was to walk away from the sport 185 The retired Talbot expressed concerns that Thorpe was making a decision whilst he was physically and emotionally drained while other coaches felt that the new relationship would end up with Thorpe rather than Menzies making the decisions 31 186 187 Despite a turbulent year he was again named by Swimming World as its World Swimmer of the Year 160 Along with the switch of coaches Thorpe indicated that he would put more focus on improving his sprinting ability He thus dropped the 800 m freestyle despite being the reigning world champion and record holder 188 During this period his times in the 400 m and 200 m freestyle deteriorated and both he and Menzies were criticised The criticism continued to mount during their partnership particularly during the build up to the 2004 Olympics Following his victory in the 200 and 400 events in Athens Thorpe said that his results justified his decision despite posting substantially faster times as a young swimmer under Frost 189 2003 World Aquatics Championships 2003 World Championships nbsp 200 m freestyle 1 45 14 nbsp 400 m freestyle 3 42 58 nbsp 4 200 m freestyle 7 08 58 nbsp 200 m medley 1 59 66 nbsp 100 m freestyle 48 77The first major test of Thorpe s partnership with Menzies came at the Australian Championships held in Sydney in March Thorpe did not threaten any of his world records completing the 400 m and 200 m freestyle more than two and one seconds respectively off his best Despite defeating Hackett in both races to retain his titles 190 he later admitted that he was pretty disappointed with his performances 191 When he tied with Ashley Callus in a time of 49 05 s 192 he was criticised by The Sydney Morning Herald which stated The measure of Thorpe s sprinting ability is that he could only match the efforts of a virus riddled Callus 182 Thorpe found some relief by setting a new Commonwealth record of 2 min 00 11 s in his first long course 200 m individual medley outing the fifth fastest time in the past year 193 Thorpe attracted further criticism when he withdrew from the inaugural Duel in the Pool with a medical complaint despite travelling overseas for commercial and charity work 194 195 Thorpe arrived for the 2003 World Championships in Barcelona for his first major international competition since Menzies appointment under heavy media scrutiny following his non improvement at the Australian Championships On the first night of competition Thorpe defeated Hackett in the 400 m freestyle in a time 2 5 s outside his world record 196 making him the first to win three world titles in the same event 4 After his relatively slow 400 m he was again under pressure in the 200 m freestyle after van den Hoogenband led at the 100 m mark ahead of world record pace Thorpe managed to respond and retain his world title 197 and gained some relief after his sprint training yielded his first medal in the 100 m freestyle at a global competition he finished third in 48 77 s 198 In all three freestyle events however he had swum slower than his times under Frost He ended his individual campaign on a promising note with his experiment with the 200 m individual medley setting a new personal best of 1 min 59 66 s to claim silver 199 Thorpe again anchored the 4 200 m freestyle team to retain the world title along with Hackett Nicholas Sprenger and Craig Stevens with a reduced margin over the Americans who finished less than two seconds in arrears 4 200 Michael Klim s injuries left the relay teams weakened with Thorpe anchoring the 4 100 m freestyle team to fourth 196 201 At the end of a difficult year in the water his standing had fallen in the eyes of Swimming World who rated him fourth in the world He was again named as Australian Swimmer of the Year jointly with Hackett 202 2004 Summer Olympics 2004 Summer Olympics nbsp 200 m freestyle 1 44 71 OR nbsp 400 m freestyle 3 43 10 nbsp 4 200 m freestyle 7 07 46 nbsp 100 m freestyle 48 56After his feats at the 2003 World Championships Speedo had generated significant media publicity by offering Michael Phelps US 1 million if he could match Spitz s seven golds Thorpe was adamant that this was impossible and scrapped his seventh event the 200 m individual medley from his Olympic program 203 In late March 2004 at the Australian Championships in Sydney Thorpe overbalanced whilst on the blocks in the heats of the 400 m freestyle and fell into the water resulting in his disqualification and ending the defence of his Olympic 400 m title 4 This resulted in a large debate among the swimming and public community as to whether Thorpe should be given an exception to Australia s policy of selecting the first and second place getters with Prime Minister of Australia John Howard describing the situation as a tragedy 204 Despite the intense media spotlight Thorpe managed to win the 100 m and 200 m freestyle events to ensure his selection for Athens Craig Stevens who had claimed the second qualifying position in the 400 m event subsequently faced immense public pressure to relinquish his position to Thorpe and later did so in a television interview for which he was paid 4 This generated ethical debate as to whether Stevens decision had been bought and criticism against Thorpe 205 206 The pressure in the lead up was further compounded by the media attention surrounding Phelps who had decided that the 200 m freestyle would be one of the events in his quest for eight gold medals This prompted many media outlets to label the race between Thorpe van den Hoogenband Phelps and Hackett as The Race of the Century With the press spotlight growing Thorpe tried to avoid media attention resulting in a few terse media events 207 Thorpe s increasing focus on the 100 m event coupled with the media pressure resulted in speculation that he was vulnerable to Hackett in the 400 m event Thorpe made a slow start in the final reaching the 100 m mark one second outside world record pace In a topsy turvy performance at irregular pace there were multiple changes of lead before Thorpe established a body length lead by 350 m He was closed down by Hackett holding on by only 0 26 s in a time three seconds outside his own world record 208 209 With Klim recently returning from a two year injury layoff and Callus ill Thorpe could only anchor Australia to sixth in the 4 100 m freestyle relay 210 The 200 m began with van den Hoogenband again attacking immediately reaching the 100 m mark more than a second under the world record split with Thorpe half a body length behind Thorpe gradually reduced the lead before passing van den Hoogenband in the last 50 m to win The Race of the Century by half a body length in a new Olympic record of 1 min 44 71 s 211 Having achieved what had eluded him four years earlier Thorpe reacted emotionally immediately tearing off his cap punching the air and screaming 212 The next day saw six years of Australian victory in the 4 200 m freestyle relay ended when Hackett Klim and Sprenger had put Thorpe into the final leg 1 48 s behind Keller Thorpe gradually reduced the margin but was unable to pass Keller in the last lap the United States touching 0 13 s earlier 213 214 Thorpe found himself on the other side of a close result when he qualified last for the 100 m freestyle by 0 01 s He capitalised in the final by coming from sixth at the 50 m mark to win bronze medal in a personal best of 48 56 s 189 215 making him the only person to medal in the 100 200 400 combination in Olympic history 4 After the Athens Olympics Thorpe took a break from competitive swimming skipping the 2005 World Aquatics Championships 2006 Attempted return and retirement nbsp Ian Thorpe Aquatic Centre in Ultimo SydneyThorpe returned to competition at the New South Wales Championships in December 2005 He raced in the 200 m and stated his intention to retire after the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing 216 Thorpe announced that due to a desire to concentrate on the 100 m freestyle he had dropped his pet event the 400 m He was unmoved by national coach Alan Thompson who implored him to continue swimming the event 217 In February Thorpe qualified for the 2006 Commonwealth Games by winning the 100 m and 200 m freestyle in times of 49 24 s and 1 min 46 42 s respectively He expressed disappointment with his performances he speculated that he may have misjudged his new training schedule and anticipated further improvement 218 219 Soon after Thorpe announced his withdrawal from the Commonwealth Games due to a bout of bronchitis which had stopped him from training 220 221 Thorpe s illness was later diagnosed as a strain of glandular fever 222 and after a further delay caused by a broken hand he moved to the United States in July to work with Dave Salo Further disruption followed when the Australian switched coaches citing excessive and ongoing media attention 223 Thorpe s stay was constantly surrounded by rumours that he was suffering from ill discipline this fuelled speculation that his international career was on the decline 224 225 Upon his return to Australia Thorpe withdrew from the selection trials for the 2007 World Championships and announced his retirement on 21 November 2006 226 Thorpe said that he had been contemplating retirement for some time but was afraid of the future because swimming had given him a safety blanket 227 Thorpe stated that he retired despite reaching higher levels of fitness noting As I got fit physically fit my mind also got fit 227 He said a clear mind allowed him to reach his decision He was close to tears when thanking the Australian public but declared that his retirement was a joyous occasion of celebration 227 In 2007 the French sports newspaper L Equipe claimed that Thorpe showed abnormal levels of two banned substances in a doping test in 2006 prior to his retirement 228 229 Thorpe denied the charges The Australian Sports Anti Doping Authority ASADA confirmed that they had investigated Thorpe in the past for abnormal levels of testosterone and luteinising hormone LH but had dismissed the result 230 231 FINA dropped its investigation and closed the case 232 Thorpe has never been found to have used banned substances and has denied allegations against him while also speaking out against drug use He has called for the introduction of blood testing promised to surrender a frozen sample for retrospective testing and repeatedly criticised FINA for drug testing procedures that he regards as inadequate 31 79 233 Comeback 2011 2012 In February 2011 Thorpe announced that he would come out of retirement and attempt to qualify for the 2012 Olympics in London 234 235 Thorpe s major focus was the 100 m and 200 m freestyle at 2012 s trials stating he could offer the most value to the Australian team in the relays He would not swim the 400 m claiming he would not have enough time to build up endurance for that event 236 Thorpe swam the 100 m butterfly and 100 m medley in Singapore 4 5 November and Beijing 8 9 November before also taking on the 100 m freestyle in the Tokyo 12 13 November round of the 2011 FINA Swimming World Cup 237 2012 Australian Olympic Trials and aftermath Thorpe s comeback attempt in the 200 m freestyle came to an abrupt end on Day Two of Australia s Olympic Trials in Adelaide on 16 March 2012 No longer allowed to wear the full body racing suit covering from neck to ankles and wrists banned by FINA rule changes he competed wearing just the jammer hip to thigh racing shorts He swam very well in the morning heats cruising to 1 49 18 a time which placed him equal fifth fastest However in the semi finals that evening he faded over the last 100 meters finishing in 12th place at 1 49 91 Speaking to reporters immediately afterwards Thorpe said The last 100 was a struggle I m not sure why This was slower than what I swam this morning probably the inexperience of racing in the last 18 months held me up The fairytale has turned into a nightmare 238 In the 100 m freestyle on day 3 17 March Thorpe won his heat the 9th of 12 but failed to break 50 seconds and did not advance to the semi finals with the top 16 sprinters Thus his bid to qualify for the London Olympics officially ended nbsp Ian Thorpe s hand prints at the Sydney Aquatic Centre It was subsequently announced that Thorpe was targeting qualification for the 2013 World Championships in Barcelona 239 and later the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow 240 but was forced to abandon his plans due to a shoulder injury 241 Athletic attributesThorpe s success has been attributed to his work ethic mental strength powerful kick ability to accelerate and a physiology suited to swimming This led former Australian head coach Don Talbot to label him as the greatest swimmer the world has seen 242 Although Swimming World labelled Thorpe s technique as extraordinary and superior 243 Talbot disagreed stating his belief that Thorpe relied on his kick too heavily at the expense of his arms He also cited Thorpe s ability to manage his workload and his day to day recovery between races during a meet as a deficiency 242 Thorpe was known for using his trademark six beat kick to power away from his rivals in the closing stages of races the effectiveness of which was attributed to his unusually large size 17 feet 31 244 Following his retirement head coach of the US men s swimming team Bob Bowman who also mentors Michael Phelps called Thorpe the greatest middle distance swimmer of all time and the greatest relay swimmer I have seen 245 Bowman further cited Thorpe s ability to raise the profile and popularity of swimming noting that Phelps public image was modelled on that of the Australian Australian Olympic Committee President John Coates stated that In 50 years from now Australians will still marvel at the feats of Ian Thorpe 245 Dawn Fraser the first of only two swimmers to win the same Olympic event three times said that Thorpe was the greatest freestyle swimmer in the world 244 245 and lamented that he would not be attempting a hat trick of 400 m titles 244 245 Honours nbsp Plaque of Ian Thorpe Outside Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre Aside from his swimming achievements Thorpe has received numerous honours and accolades during his life including 2000 Young Australian of the Year 10 2000 The Australian Sports Medal as Commonwealth Games Pan Pacific World Record Holder 246 2001 Awarded Medal of the Order of Australia OAM for service to sport as a gold medallist at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games 247 2001 The Centenary Medal for service to Australian society through the sport of swimming 248 2007 Ian Thorpe Aquatic and Fitness Centre in Ultimo Sydney named in his honour 249 2012 Awarded Human Rights Medal for his charity work with Indigenous children 250 2013 Conferred an honorary Doctor of Letters by the University of Western Sydney for his support for health and education services for Indigenous youth 251 2014 Conferred an honorary Doctor of Letters by the Macquarie University in recognition of his extraordinary contribution for the sport philanthropy and Indigenous rights 252 253 2019 Advanced to Member of the Order of Australia AM in recognition of his significant service to youth and Indigenous education through charitable initiatives and to swimming 254 2022 Swimming Australia Hall of Fame inaugural inductee 255 256 Post swimming careerThorpe presented a two part television documentary called Bullied on ABC Television using hidden camera footage to give a victim s eye view of bullying It aired 14 March 2017 257 258 259 In 2021 Thorpe competed in Celebrity MasterChef Australia series 2 and was fourth to be eliminated 260 261 During the series the judges referred to Thorpe having written two cookbooks Cook For Your Life published in 2011 and Eat Well Now released in 2016 262 Personal lifeSexuality In a July 2014 televised interview with British talk show host Michael Parkinson Thorpe came out as gay after years of denying his homosexuality publicly 263 264 265 266 267 He stated I m comfortable saying I m a gay man And I don t want people to feel the same way I did You can grow up you can be comfortable and you can be gay He added I am telling the world that I am gay and I hope this makes it easier for others now and even if you ve held it in for years it feels easier to get it out 268 269 In 2016 he began dating model Ryan Channing 270 In December 2017 he said he did not plan to marry his boyfriend any time soon 271 He would like to become a father 272 In June 2019 Thorpe split with Channing 273 274 275 Channing later died in Bali Indonesia in May 2022 276 277 In September 2020 the International Olympic Committee published a question and answer format interview with Thorpe which touched on his sexual orientation and some of the challenges he faced due to his homosexuality in competitive swimming 278 Activism In the lead up to the Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey Thorpe campaigned for a yes vote encouraging people to enroll to vote at the City2Surf 279 He later appeared in a campaign advertisement with his partner saying Thorpe could update his electoral details faster than he could swim 100 metres 280 Sponsorship nbsp Thorpe left with fans in 2000 Thorpe is known for his interests in fashion and serves as an ambassador for Armani 11 281 and has his own line of designer jewellery and underwear 281 During his career Thorpe was one of the most prominent and popular sportspeople in Australia Despite competing in a sport in which the vast majority of international athletes earnings are below the poverty line 282 marketing surveys consistently ranked Thorpe as the most sought after Australian athlete for sponsorship deals surpassing footballers who compete on a weekly basis in much larger stadia 282 Aside from his swimsuit sponsor Adidas Thorpe was sponsored by Australian corporate giants such as Qantas Telstra and the Seven Network 264 283 Thorpe s interests in fashion and culture led him to make frequent visits to New York City which he describes as a second home often for engagements with Armani and particularly because of the city s status as a global fashion capital 11 281 284 He was present at the World Trade Center on the morning of 11 September 2001 having stopped there on his jog before returning to his hotel after forgetting his camera 11 285 It was during this trip that he appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno which was notable because of the relative lack of interest in competitive swimming in America 281 286 Thorpe later became a spokesperson for the unsuccessful New York bid for the 2012 Summer Olympics even promising to continue his career until the games if New York won the hosting rights 287 Thorpe s interests have also seen him involved in television In 2002 he played the lead role in the reality television show Undercover Angels which imitated the Charlie s Angels series In the program Thorpe directed three young women who performed good deeds for people in need 281 Although it averaged more than a million viewers per episode it was widely panned by critics 264 281 288 Thorpe has also appeared as an extra in the American sitcom Friends 11 281 289 Thorpe is widely popular in Asia particularly Japan In 2000 TV Asahi identified him as the swimmer likely to be the most successful at the 2001 World Championships in Fukuoka so they selected him as the event s marketing figurehead In the lead up Thorpe visited Japan to promote Asahi in a series of television events 7 290 and upon returning for the competition he was mobbed at the airport by youthful crowds 25 m deep hundreds camped outside the Australian team s hotel 291 292 He was also praised by older sections of Japanese society as a role model for youth due to what they interpreted as his humility and work ethic 264 291 It was estimated that more than 80 of the Japanese public watched his races on television 293 In 2002 in the wake of a tourism slump after 11 September terrorist attacks Thorpe agreed to be an ambassador for the Australian Tourism Commission in Japan The high profile campaign included a meeting with the Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi The marketing drive resulted in an upturn in Japanese tourism to Australia which was credited to Thorpe 294 295 296 297 In 2005 Yakult released a Thorpedo energy drink which featured a picture of the swimmer on the bottle in Japan 298 This was part of an equity deal with the So Natural food group in which Thorpe was given a 5 stake in the company at the time worth A 1 1 m in return for the use of his name and image on their products The 15 year deal covers East and Southeast Asia and Thorpe s share in the venture could increase to 50 depending on its success 295 299 Philanthropy nbsp Ian Thorpe Cathy Freeman and Jeff McMullen were among some of the speakers at the Close the Gap launch More recently Thorpe has also emerged as a philanthropist starting the charity Ian Thorpe s Fountain for Youth in 2000 300 301 302 The organisation raises funds for research into childhood illnesses and sponsors a school in Beijing for orphaned children with disabilities 303 304 In addition it works with The Fred Hollows Foundation to improve health standards and living conditions in Australian aboriginal communities 7 303 305 Citing a wish to work directly with our Aboriginal partners and not compete for the meagre funding available from public and corporate donations the organisation was liquidated in 2014 306 Depression In 2014 it was confirmed that Thorpe had been admitted to a rehabilitation clinic after neighbours found him dazed near his parents Panania home Thorpe was taken to Bankstown Hospital by police before being admitted to a rehabilitation clinic 307 In his 2012 autobiography This is Me Thorpe stated he had considered suicide and had drunk huge quantities of alcohol to deal with crippling depression 308 309 310 See also nbsp Olympics portal nbsp LGBT portalIan Thorpe The Swimmer 2012 documentary Ian Thorpe and drug testing Ian Thorpe Aquatic and Fitness Centre LGBT athletes in the Olympics List of Australian Olympic medalists in swimming List of Commonwealth Games medallists in swimming men List of Olympic medalists in swimming men World record progression 200 metres freestyle World record progression 400 metres freestyle World record progression 800 metres freestyle World record progression 4 100 metres freestyle relay World record progression 4 200 metres freestyle relayPublished worksThorpe Ian Wainwright Robert 25 October 2012 This is Me Simon and Schuster Australia published 2012 ISBN 978 1 4711 0122 9 References I ll never swim again says Ian Thorpe The Australian 19 March 2016 a b Hunter p 75 a b c d e f g h i j k Andrews pp 434 436 487 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p 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from the original on 30 September 2007 Retrieved 20 November 2006 Hunter pp 337 342 Hunter pp 346 347 Hunter pp 349 350 Bannerman Mark 29 March 2004 Thorpe s tumble divides nation Australian Broadcasting Corporation Archived from the original on 4 November 2012 Retrieved 14 November 2006 Bannerman Mark 29 April 2004 Stevens announcement raises financial questions for world sport Australian Broadcasting Corporation Archived from the original The 7 30 report transcript on 23 October 2011 Retrieved 14 November 2006 Hunter pp 354 359 Hunter pp 377 380 Thorpe Hackett quinella 400 m free Australian Broadcasting Corporation 15 August 2004 Archived from the original on 12 November 2007 Retrieved 16 November 2006 Hunter pp 384 388 Thomas Stephen J 15 August 2004 South African Men Take a Historic Relay Victory in 400 free Smash World Record Swimming World Archived from the original on 27 September 2007 Retrieved 16 November 2006 Thomas Stephen J 16 August 2004 The Thorpedo Triumphs over Hoogie 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2008 Retrieved 14 November 2006 Jeffery Nicole 5 October 2006 City of Angels full of answers for Thorpe The Australian Archived from the original on 19 September 2008 Retrieved 10 November 2006 Wilson Rebecca 20 August 2006 Thorpe Me LA and gay rumours Herald Sun Australia Archived from the original on 30 January 2008 Retrieved 24 November 2006 Thorpe fitness weighs heavily on Australian minds Reuters 4 August 2006 Archived from the original on 9 September 2013 Retrieved 10 November 2006 Archer Lincoln 21 November 2006 Ian Thorpe quits swimming Archived from the original on 17 September 2008 Retrieved 21 November 2006 a b c Jeffery Nicole 22 November 2006 Thorpe looks up from black line The Australian Retrieved 22 November 2006 Doping allegations to sink Aussie swimmer Thorpe USA Today Associated Press 31 March 2007 Archived from the original on 26 December 2014 Retrieved 26 December 2014 L Equipe Thorpe showed abnormal levels of banned substances U T San Diego Platinum Equity Associated Press 30 March 2007 Archived from the original on 15 January 2015 Retrieved 15 January 2015 Magnay Jacquelin 6 April 2007 Thorpe likely to be cleared The Age Melbourne Australia Archived from the original on 21 September 2015 Retrieved 20 April 2007 Thorpe maintains innocence vows to clear name Australian Broadcasting Corporation 1 April 2007 Archived from the original on 12 November 2007 Retrieved 2 April 2007 Thorpe in clear over drugs test BBC 7 November 2007 Retrieved 7 November 2007 Hall backs Thorpe over drug use claims Australian Broadcasting Corporation 4 August 2004 Archived from the original on 1 June 2007 Retrieved 10 November 2006 Cowley Michael 2 February 2011 He s back Thorpe takes the plunge The Sydney Morning Herald Archived from the original on 3 February 2011 Retrieved 1 February 2011 Jeffery Nicole 2 February 2011 Ian Thorpe back on the Olympic wagon The Australian Thorpe must come back better than ever ABC News 2 February 2011 Archived from the original on 29 June 2011 Retrieved 28 July 2011 Mixed bag for Thorpe in World Cup return The Sydney Morning Herald 19 October 2011 Archived from the original on 20 October 2011 Retrieved 19 October 2011 Ian Thorpe finishes 12th in 200m freestyle at the Australian Swimming Championships Herald Sun 16 March 2012 Archived from the original on 4 April 2012 Retrieved 17 March 2012 Tucker Jim 26 July 2012 Ian Thorpe sets sights on 2013 world championships in Barcelona The Courier Mail Brisbane Archived from the original on 6 August 2012 Retrieved 20 August 2012 Ian Thorpe to set sights on making Australia s Commonwealth Games team The Courier Mail Brisbane AAP 28 January 2013 Halloran Jessica 27 July 2013 Ian Thorpe gives up on Olympic dreams after shoulder injury The Sunday Telegraph Sydney News Corp Australia Archived from the original on 22 June 2014 Retrieved 29 January 2014 a b Talbot pp 221 229 World Cup VIII German Coach Accuses Thorpe of Doping Swimming World 3 February 2000 Archived from the original on 1 June 2007 Retrieved 21 November 2006 a b c Clarey Christopher 21 November 2006 Ian Thorpe Australian hero throws in the towel International Herald Tribune Archived from the original on 27 November 2006 Retrieved 26 April 2007 a b c d Jeffery Nicole 22 November 2006 World bids adieu to pool pioneer The Australian Archived from the original on 18 September 2008 Retrieved 22 November 2006 Mr Ian James THORPE Australian Sports Medal Australian Honours Search Facility Australian Government 23 June 2000 Retrieved 13 March 2021 Commonwealth Games Pan Pacs World Record Holder THORPE Ian James itsanhonour gov au Archived from the original on 15 February 2019 Retrieved 28 July 2014 Mr Ian James THORPE Centenary Medal Australian Honours Search Facility Australian Government 1 January 2001 Retrieved 13 March 2021 For service to Australian society through the sport of swimming Narushima Yuko 27 November 2007 Fish out of water Thorpe resists wetting toes The Sydney Morning Herald Archived from the original on 6 October 2013 Retrieved 28 July 2014 Ian Thorpe wins human rights award ABC News Australian Broadcasting Corporation 10 December 2012 Archived from the original on 23 July 2014 Retrieved 28 July 2014 Swimmer Ian Thorpe collects honorary doctorate uws edu au Archived from the original on 9 August 2014 Retrieved 28 July 2014 Ian Thorpe receives honorary doctorate of letters The Guardian Archived from the original on 2 October 2014 Retrieved 30 September 2014 Ian Thorpe OAM receives honorary doctorate The Lighthouse 10 June 2022 Retrieved 11 September 2023 Member AM in the General Division of the Order of Australia M Z PDF Australia Day 2019 Honours List Office of the Governor General of Australia Archived from the original PDF on 15 March 2019 Retrieved 27 January 2019 Hanson Ian 28 August 2022 Ian Thorpe Dawn Fraser and Shane Gould Among First Inductees Into Swimming Australia Hall Of Fame Swimming World Retrieved 29 August 2022 Legends Headline Inaugural Hall of Fame Class Retrieved 11 September 2023 Buckmaster Luke 28 February 2017 Ian Thorpe on bullying depression and athletes mental health The Guardian Archived from the original on 9 March 2017 Retrieved 10 March 2017 Thomas Sarah 6 March 2017 Ian Thorpe steps up for desperate young victims in ABC documentary Bullied The Sydney Morning Herald Archived from the original on 12 March 2017 Retrieved 10 March 2017 Ian Thorpe takes on bullying for ABC Press release ABC Media Room Archived from the original on 23 April 2016 Retrieved 10 March 2017 RECAP IAN THORPE S EASTERN MESS GOES SOUTH ON CELEBRITY MASTERCHEF AUSTRALIA TV Blackbox 8 November 2021 Retrieved 13 January 2022 Episode 2 11 Celebrity MasterChef Australia Andy Allen Melissa Leong Jock Zonfrillo 14 November 2021 retrieved 11 September 2023 a href Template Citation html title Template Citation citation a CS1 maint others link IAN THORPE S BOOKS Goodreads Retrieved 13 January 2022 Hunter pp 318 320 a b c d Saltau Chloe 28 July 2003 The magnetic Mr Thorpe The Age Australia Archived from the original on 12 October 2007 Retrieved 16 November 2006 Magnay Jacquelin 18 November 2002 Thorpe straight as the line on the bottom of the pool The Sydney Morning Herald Archived from the original on 25 October 2007 Retrieved 10 November 2006 Crouse Karen 12 July 2014 Ian Thorpe Swimming Star for Australia in Olympics Says He Is Gay The New York Times Archived from the original on 13 July 2014 Retrieved 12 July 2014 Aussie swimmer Ian Thorpe reveals he is gay Stuff co nz 13 July 2014 Archived from the original on 12 July 2014 Retrieved 13 July 2014 Ian Thorpe reveals he is gay describes struggle with depression in tell all interview with Sir Michael Parkinson ABC News 13 July 2014 Archived from the original on 13 July 2014 Retrieved 13 July 2014 Charlotte Willis 13 July 2014 Former Olympic swimming champion Ian Thorpe reveals he s gay to Michael Parkinson in Channel 10 interview News com au Archived from the original on 14 July 2014 Retrieved 13 July 2014 Parri Linda 20 November 2016 Perth model Ryan Channing and Olympian Ian Thorpe set for Paris move PerthNow Archived from the original on 21 February 2017 Retrieved 23 May 2017 Harris Chris 9 December 2017 Ian Thorpe has no intentions to get married anytime soon after same sex marriage was legalised Daily Telegraph Retrieved 9 December 2017 Thorpie s baby joy Womans Day 4 December 2017 Archived from the original on 9 December 2017 Retrieved 9 December 2017 Ian Thorpe and Ryan Channing confirm their relationship has ended OUTInPerth LGBTIQ News and Culture 30 June 2019 Retrieved 3 July 2020 Thorpe splits from Perth beau PerthNow 29 June 2019 Retrieved 11 September 2023 The real reason behind Ian Thorpe and Ryan Channing s shock split Now To Love Retrieved 11 September 2023 Ian Thorpe s former partner Ryan Channing dies in Bali The Sydney Morning Herald 11 May 2022 Retrieved 28 January 2023 Aussie sporting legend s ex partner dies in Bali NZ Herald 11 September 2023 Retrieved 11 September 2023 Tulloch Ash 30 September 2020 Exclusive Q amp A Ian Thorpe on Sydney 2000 coming out and who to look out for at Tokyo Olympics International Olympic Committee Retrieved 18 July 2021 McKinnell Jamie 13 August 2017 Ian Thorpe joins campaign for marriage equality The Sydney Morning Herald Archived from the original on 29 August 2017 Retrieved 29 August 2017 Olympian Ian Thorpe races his scantily clad boyfriend for marriage equality Gay Star News 21 August 2017 Archived from the original on 29 August 2017 Retrieved 29 August 2017 a b c d e f g Swanton p 113 a b Hunter pp vii viii Hunter pp 90 140 168 New York retakes Top Global Fashion Capital Title from London edging past Paris Languagemonitor com Archived from the original on 23 April 2014 Retrieved 26 May 2014 Swanton pp 114 115 Hunter pp 280 281 Magnay Jacquelin 5 July 2005 Ian Thorpe to rescue NY Olympic dream The Age Australia Archived from the original on 12 January 2007 Retrieved 10 November 2006 Hunter pp 294 295 Hunter p 244 Hunter pp 236 249 257 260 a b Hunter pp 264 265 275 276 Swanton pp 117 120 Swanton p 120 Hunter pp 292 293 a b McIntyre Paul 8 July 2004 Seafood campaign tests Thorpe s pulling power The Sydney Morning Herald Archived from the original on 28 August 2006 Retrieved 16 November 2006 Hockey Joe 25 February 2002 Ian Thorpe Australia s First Holiday Ambassador in Japan Government of Australia Archived from the original on 14 September 2007 Retrieved 22 November 2006 Swanton p 142 Yakult to sell Ian Thorpe sports drink Japan Today 16 December 2005 Archived from the original on 18 May 2015 Retrieved 22 March 2006 Hunter pp 350 351 Hunter p 248 Swanton p 114 Heffernan Madeleine 4 February 2015 Ian Thorpe charity in liquidation The Sydney Morning Herald Retrieved 11 September 2023 a b Hunter pp 331 333 Swanton p 148 Jeff McMullen The Fred Hollows Foundation Archived from the original on 20 August 2006 Retrieved 16 November 2006 Heffernan Madeline 4 February 2014 Ian Thorpe charity in liquidation The Sydney Morning Herald Archived from the original on 22 June 2015 Retrieved 8 July 2015 Ian Thorpe Swimming star in rehab CNN 3 February 2014 Retrieved 11 September 2023 Carayannis Michael 3 February 2014 Ian Thorpe admitted to rehabilitation clinic The Sydney Morning Herald Archived from the original on 3 February 2014 Retrieved 3 February 2014 Ian Thorpe former Olympic champion s mental health issues began as a teenager The Guardian 18 February 2016 ISSN 0261 3077 Retrieved 11 September 2023 Thorpe reveals depression fight BBC Sport Retrieved 11 September 2023 BibliographyAndrews Malcolm June 2000 Australia at the Olympics Sydney New South Wales ABC Books ISBN 0 7333 0884 8 Hunter Greg 2004 Ian Thorpe The Biography Sydney New South Wales MacMillan ISBN 1 4050 3632 X Swanton Will 2002 Ian Thorpe Early Years Melbourne Victoria Legend Books ISBN 1 877096 12 1 Talbot Don Heads Ian Berry Kevin 2003 Talbot Nothing But the Best South Melbourne Victoria Lothian ISBN 0 7344 0512 X External links nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ian Thorpe Ian Thorpe at the Australian Olympic Committee nbsp Ian Thorpe at Olympics com nbsp Ian Thorpe at Olympic org archived nbsp Ian Thorpe at Olympedia nbsp Ian Thorpe at the Commonwealth Games Federation archived nbsp Ian Thorpe on Twitter nbsp Ian Thorpe at IMDb nbsp RecordsPreceded byKieren Perkins Men s 400 metre freestyleworld record holder long course 22 August 1999 26 July 2009 Succeeded byPaul BiedermannPreceded byGrant HackettPieter van den Hoogenband Men s 200 metre freestyleworld record holder long course 23 August 1999 17 September 200027 March 2001 27 March 2007 Succeeded byPieter van den HoogenbandMichael PhelpsPreceded byKieren Perkins Men s 800 metre freestyleworld record holder long course 26 March 2001 27 July 2005 Succeeded byGrant HackettAwards and achievementsPreceded byBryan Gaensler Young Australian of the Year2000 Succeeded byJames FitzpatrickPreceded byMichael KlimPieter van den Hoogenband Swimming WorldSwimmer of the Year1998 19992001 2002 Succeeded byPieter van den HoogenbandMichael PhelpsPreceded byMichael KlimKosuke Kitajima Swimming World Pacific RimSwimmer of the Year1998 2002 2004 Succeeded byKosuke KitajimaGrant Hackett Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Ian Thorpe amp oldid 1174879537, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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