Ian Thorpe
Encyclopedia
Ian James Thorpe OAM
(born 13 October 1982), nicknamed the Thorpedo and Thorpey, is an Australian swimmer who specialises in freestyle
, but also competes in backstroke and the individual medley. He has won five Olympic gold medals, the most won by any Australian, and with three gold and two silver medals, was the most successful athlete at the 2000 Summer Olympics. At the 2001 World Aquatics Championships
, he became the first person to win six gold medals in one World Championship. In total, Thorpe has won eleven World Championship golds, the second-highest number of any swimmer. Thorpe was the first person to have been named Swimming World Swimmer of the Year
four times, 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.
At the age of 14, he became the youngest male ever to represent Australia, and his victory in the 400 metre freestyle at the 1998 Perth World Championships
made him the youngest ever individual male World Champion. 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. 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 in Athens
have made him the only male to have won medals in the 100–200–400 combination.
After the Athens Olympics, Thorpe took a year away from swimming, scheduling a return for the 2006 Commonwealth Games
. However, he was forced to withdraw due to illness. Subsequent training camps were interrupted, and he announced his retirement in November 2006, citing waning motivation.
From early 2011, there was much speculation about Thorpe's return to swimming, fuelled by people claiming to have seen him training. These speculations were finally substantiated when Thorpe called a press conference on 2 February 2011, where he spoke of his return to swimming for the London Olympic Games
, after four years away from the pool.
, Thorpe hailed from a sporting family. His father Ken was a promising cricket
er at junior level, representing Bankstown Cricket Club
in Sydney's district competition
. 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. Thorpe's mother Margaret played A-grade netball
, but he did not inherit his parents' ball skills. 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. Due to his unhappy experiences, Ken Thorpe regarded enjoyment as the most critical aspect of his children's participation in sport.
As a young child, Thorpe was sidelined by an allergy
to chlorine. As a result, he did not swim in his first race until a school carnival at the age of seven. 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. Thorpe gradually overcame the ailment and progressed to the captaincy of New South Wales for the Australian Primary Schools Championships in 1994. He subsequently won nine individual gold medals at the New South Wales Short Course Age Championships in September of the same year. In 1995, Thorpe started his secondary education at East Hills Boys Technology High School
and switched coaches to swim alongside his sister under the tutelage of Doug Frost. It was a busy year for the family; Christina was selected for the Australian team to compete at the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships
in Atlanta. 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.
, winning five gold, two silver and two bronze medals. His times in the 400 m freestyle and 200 m backstroke
qualified him for the Australian Championships, 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. As expected, Thorpe missed selection; he finished 23rd in the 400 m freestyle and 36th in the 200 m backstroke. 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 Short Course World Championships
. Thorpe qualified in second place in the heats of the 400 m individual medley to reach his first national final. However, he swam more slowly in the final and missed selection.
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; 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, 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. The time was a world record for his age group and the race was the first of many battles with Hackett.
Aged 14 years and 5 months, Thorpe became the youngest ever male to be selected for the Australian team, surpassing John Konrads
' record by one month. 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. He set six Australian records in the process.
operation, which caused him to miss two weeks of training. 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. 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. 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. His finishing burst was to become a trademark, and his time would have been enough to win silver at the Atlanta Olympics
. 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.
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, the same as Klim's winning time in the 200 m final. 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, it was the first time that Australia had won the event at the global level since 1956. 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. Thorpe's time was the fourth fastest in history and made him the youngest ever male individual world champion.
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. 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.
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. Thorpe's time was a Commonwealth record 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.
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. 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. 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. He claimed a fourth gold in the 400 m freestyle, setting another personal best, just 0.55 s slower than Kieren Perkins' 1994 mark.
Thorpe left school at the end of year after completing Year 10. His decision caused concerns that concentrating on swimming alone could lead to burn out. Thorpe disagreed, pointing to his informal search for knowledge, stating that "Swimming is a small part of my life". 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
.
. Thorpe again won the 400 m, but Perkins' record eluded him, this time by just 0.05 s. Hackett turned the tables in the 200 m event, passing Thorpe in the final 50 m to win Thorpe's title. Although both were outside Lamberti's mark, Hackett went on to break it the following night in a relay event. 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 FINA Short Course World 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. 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.
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. 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, and covering the second half in almost the same time as the first. Talbot reacted to the performance by dubbing Thorpe as "the greatest swimmer we've [Australia] ever had", 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." 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. Thorpe promptly donated the A$
25,000 prizemoney for breaking the first world record in the pool to charity. Later the same night, Thorpe anchored the Australians to a historic victory in the 4 × 100 m freestyle final, 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. 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. 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. The next day in the final, he again broke the record, lowering it to 1 min 46.0 s. 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.
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. 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. However his performance throughout the year were 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
, ABC
Sports Star of the Year, and Male Athlete of the Year at the Australian Sports Awards.
accusing him of using steroids
. 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, Thorpe proceeded to cut more than 1.5 s from his world short course record in the 200 m freestyle. Given the context of the race, Thorpe rated it as his best-ever performance, ahead of his victories at Olympic and World level. 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.
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, lowering it to 3 min 41.33 s to earn his first Olympic selection. The following day, he lowered his 200 m world record to 1 min 45.69 s in the semi-finals, before lowering it again to 1 min 45.51 s in the final. 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.
posted a front-page spread headlined Invincible. 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. 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. This set a new world record of 3 min 40.59 s. 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. Rosolino aside, Thorpe had left bronze medallist Klete Keller
fifteen metres in arrears.
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. 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, but Thorpe's finishing kick overhauled him in the final metres, sparking wild celebrations amongst the partisan crowd. It evoked an uncharacteristic celebration from Thorpe, who immediately jumped out of the pool, screaming and hugging his ecstatic teammates. He even went as far as playing air guitar
to mock Hall's pre-race claim that the Americans would "smash" the Australians "like guitars".
When Thorpe broke the 200 m freestyle Olympic record in the heats the following morning, his main rival Pieter van den Hoogenband
of the Netherlands conceded defeat. 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, and was under immense pressure to win the final the following day after his double gold on the first night. 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 46.83 s, the first time that he had swum slower in the final than in the qualifying rounds. 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, he, Klim, Kirby and Todd Pearson
lowered their world record to 7 min 07.05 s, over five seconds ahead of the Americans—the largest winning margin in an Olympic relay for half a century. Thorpe rounded off his Olympics by swimming in the heats of the 4 × 100 m medley final, and collected a silver medal when the finals quartet finished behind the Americans. 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. 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.
in March, Thorpe added the 800 m freestyle to his repertoire, after FINA
had added the event for the 2001 World Aquatics Championships
. Thorpe began his campaign by successfully defending his 400 m title with a time just 0.17 s outside his world record. 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. 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. This performance made him the third male after John Konrads
and Tim Shaw
to hold world records over three distances simultaneously. 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. 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.
Thorpe arrived in Fukuoka having been chosen by broadcaster TV Asahi
as the marketing drawcard of the event. 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. 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. 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. 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. Thorpe's winning streak was interrupted in the 100 m freestyle when his personal best of 48.81 s placed him fourth, 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. 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. This made Thorpe the only swimmer to have won six gold medals at a World Championships, and the first since Shaw in 1974 to win the 200–400–800 treble. 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. 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.
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. 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. 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. He also experimented by adding the 100 m backstroke to his repertoire, placing second. This earned him a Commonwealth spot in a seventh event, leading to further media speculation that he could match Spitz.
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. 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. His reasoning that the strength gains would outweigh any loss in flexibility raised concerns over his physiological strategy. On the first night in Manchester, Thorpe again lowered his 400 m mark by 0.09 s to 3 min 40.08 s, before anchoring the 4 × 100 m freestyle relay team to another gold. 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". 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. When he collected a silver in his first international race in the 100 m backstroke with another personal best behind world champion Matt Welsh
, 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". Despite Thorpe's assertion that he could not match Spitz, Frost predicted that Thorpe could win nine golds at one Olympics. 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. As a result, he was awarded the honour of carrying the flag at the closing ceremony.
The Pan Pacific Championships followed in Yokohama
less than a month later, with media speculation about Thorpe and Frost overshadowing the racing. 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. Australia subsequently won the relay, with Thorpe again overtaking Jason Lezak
in the last 50 m. He subsequently won the 200 m freestyle, and anchored the 4 × 200 m freestyle relay to victory to take his tally to four golds. 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. 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.
, 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". 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. Despite a turbulent year, he was again named by Swimming World as its World Swimmer of the Year.
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. 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.
in a time of 49.05 s, 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". 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. 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.
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, making him the first to win three world titles in the same event. 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, 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. 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. 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. Michael Klim
's injuries left the relay teams weakened, with Thorpe anchoring the 4 × 100 m freestyle team to fourth, 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.
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. 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. 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". 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. This generated ethical debate as to whether Stevens' decision had been bought, and criticism against Thorpe.
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. 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. Thorpe appeared to shed tears in an uncharacteristic sign of emotion, admitting that the controversy surrounding the event had taken a toll on him, but denying that any liquid had left his eyes.
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. 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. Having achieved what had eluded him four years earlier, Thorpe reacted emotionally, immediately tearing off his cap, punching the air and screaming. 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. 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, making him the only person to medal in the 100–200–400 combination in Olympic history. After the Athens Olympics, Thorpe took a break from competitive swimming, skipping the 2005 World Aquatics Championships
.
in Beijing. 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. 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.
Soon after, Thorpe announced his withdrawal from the Commonwealth Games due to a bout of bronchitis
, which had stopped him from training. Thorpe's illness was later diagnosed as a strain of glandular fever
, 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. 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.
Upon his return to Australia, Thorpe withdrew from the selection trials for the 2007 World Championships
and announced his retirement on 21 November 2006. 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". Thorpe stated that he retired despite reaching higher levels of fitness, noting "As I got fit, physically fit, my mind also got fit". 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.
Thorpe will swim the 100m Butterfly & 100m Medley in Singapore (November 4–5) & Beijing (November 8–9) before also taking on the 100m freestyle in Tokyo (November 12–13) round of the 2011 FINA Swimming World Cup
.
to label him as "the greatest swimmer the world has seen". Although Swimming World labelled Thorpe's technique as "extraordinary" and "superior", 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. 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.
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". 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". 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", and lamented that he would not be attempting a hat-trick of 400 m titles.
, the head coach and captain of Germany's swimming team accused Thorpe of cheating. They asserted that his 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. In 2007, the French sports newspaper L'Équipe
claimed that Thorpe showed "abnormal levels" of two banned substances in a doping test. Thorpe denied the charges and the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA) later confirmed that they had investigated Thorpe and dismissed the result. FINA dropped its investigation and closed the case.
Thorpe has himself been prominent in the campaign 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.
, and has his own line of designer jewellery and underwear. Such interests have fuelled frequent speculation that Thorpe might be homosexual; his picture was featured prominently on gay websites. In 2002, Thorpe finally denied this rumour, asserting that he was heterosexual
.
, Thorpe was sponsored by Australian corporate giants such as Qantas
, Telstra
, and the Seven Network
.
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. 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. 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. 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. 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. Although it averaged more than a million viewers per episode, it was widely panned by critics. Thorpe has also appeared as an extra in the American sitcom Friends
.
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, 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. 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. It was estimated that more than 80% of the Japanese public watched his races on television. 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. In 2005, Yakult
released a 'Thorpedo' energy drink—which featured a picture of the swimmer on the bottle—in Japan. 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$1.1m—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.
to improve health standards and living conditions in Australian aboriginal
communities.
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
(born 13 October 1982), nicknamed the Thorpedo and Thorpey, is an Australian swimmer who specialises in freestyle
Freestyle swimming
Freestyle is an unregulated swimming style used in swimming competitions according to the rules of FINA. The front crawl stroke is almost universally used during a freestyle race, as this style is generally the fastest...
, but also competes in backstroke and the individual medley. He has won five Olympic gold medals, the most won by any Australian, and with three gold and two silver medals, was the most successful athlete at the 2000 Summer Olympics. At the 2001 World Aquatics Championships
2001 World Aquatics Championships
rightThe 2001 World Aquatics Championships or the 9th FINA World Swimming Championships were held in Fukuoka, Japan between 16 July and 29 July 2001....
, he became the first person to win six gold medals in one World Championship. In total, Thorpe has won eleven World Championship golds, the second-highest number of any swimmer. Thorpe was the first person to have been named Swimming World Swimmer of the Year
Swimming World Swimmers of the Year
The Swimming World Magazine Swimmers of the Year, awarded by the American-based Swimming World Magazine, are a set of awards which are often regarded as being the most prestigious in the sport of swimming...
four times, 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
Australian of the Year
Since 1960 the Australian of the Year Award has been part of the celebrations surrounding Australia Day , during which time the award has grown steadily in significance to become Australia’s pre-eminent award. The Australian of the Year announcement has become a very prominent part of the annual...
in 2000.
At the age of 14, he became the youngest male ever to represent Australia, and his victory in the 400 metre freestyle at the 1998 Perth World Championships
1998 World Aquatics Championships
The 1998 World Aquatics Championships or the 8th FINA World Swimming Championships were held in Perth, Western Australia, Australia between 8 January and 17 January 1998....
made him the youngest ever individual male World Champion. After that victory, Thorpe dominated the 400 m freestyle, winning the event at every Olympic, World, Commonwealth
Commonwealth Games
The Commonwealth Games is an international, multi-sport event involving athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930 and takes place every four years....
and Pan Pacific Swimming Championships
Pan Pacific Swimming Championships
The Pan Pacific Swimming Championships is a long course swimming event first held in 1985. The meet was initially staged biennially , to allow for an international championship-level meet in the non-Olympic and non-World Championships years...
until his break after the 2004 Olympics. 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
2000 Summer Olympics
The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
, among his five relay world records. His wins in the 200 m and 400 m and his bronze in the 100 m freestyle in Athens
2004 Summer Olympics
The 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team...
have made him the only male to have won medals in the 100–200–400 combination.
After the Athens Olympics, Thorpe took a year away from swimming, scheduling a return for the 2006 Commonwealth Games
2006 Commonwealth Games
The 2006 Commonwealth Games were held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia between 15 March and 26 March 2006. It was the largest sporting event to be staged in Melbourne, eclipsing the 1956 Summer Olympics in terms of the number of teams competing, athletes competing, and events being held.The site...
. However, he was forced to withdraw due to illness. Subsequent training camps were interrupted, and he announced his retirement in November 2006, citing waning motivation.
From early 2011, there was much speculation about Thorpe's return to swimming, fuelled by people claiming to have seen him training. These speculations were finally substantiated when Thorpe called a press conference on 2 February 2011, where he spoke of his return to swimming for the London Olympic Games
2012 Summer Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the "London 2012 Olympic Games", are scheduled to take place in London, England, United Kingdom from 27 July to 12 August 2012...
, after four years away from the pool.
Early years
A large baby, Thorpe weighed 4.1 kg (9.02 lb) and measured 0.59 m (1 ft 11 in) in length at birth. Growing up in the suburb of MilperraMilperra, New South Wales
Milperra, a suburb of local government area City of Bankstown, is located 24 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district in the state of New South Wales, Australia, and is a part of the South-western Sydney region.-History:...
, Thorpe hailed from a sporting family. His father Ken was a promising cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er at junior level, representing Bankstown Cricket Club
Bankstown, New South Wales
Bankstown is a suburb of south-western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Bankstown is located 20 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre of the local government area of the City of Bankstown.-History:Prior to European...
in Sydney's district competition
Sydney Grade Cricket
Sydney Grade Cricket is a cricket competition played in Sydney, Australia. The competition began in 1893 when a number of clubs, which had been playing for many years on an ad hoc basis, voted to create a formal competition structure....
. A talented batsman, he once topped the season's batting averages ahead of former Australian captain Bob Simpson
Bob Simpson (cricketer)
Robert Baddeley Simpson AO is a former cricketer who played for New South Wales, Western Australia and Australia, captaining the national team from 1963–64 until 1967–68, and again in 1977–78. He later had a highly successful term as the coach of the Australian team...
. However, paternal pressure detracted from Ken's enjoyment of cricket, and he retired at the age of 26. Thorpe's mother Margaret played A-grade netball
Netball
Netball is a ball sport played between two teams of seven players. Its development, derived from early versions of basketball, began in England in the 1890s. By 1960 international playing rules had been standardised for the game, and the International Federation of Netball and Women's Basketball ...
, but he did not inherit his parents' ball skills. 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. Due to his unhappy experiences, Ken Thorpe regarded enjoyment as the most critical aspect of his children's participation in sport.
As a young child, Thorpe was sidelined by an allergy
Allergy
An Allergy is a hypersensitivity disorder of the immune system. Allergic reactions occur when a person's immune system reacts to normally harmless substances in the environment. A substance that causes a reaction is called an allergen. These reactions are acquired, predictable, and rapid...
to chlorine. As a result, he did not swim in his first race until a school carnival at the age of seven. 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. Thorpe gradually overcame the ailment and progressed to the captaincy of New South Wales for the Australian Primary Schools Championships in 1994. He subsequently won nine individual gold medals at the New South Wales Short Course Age Championships in September of the same year. In 1995, Thorpe started his secondary education at East Hills Boys Technology High School
East Hills Boys Technology High School
East Hills Boys High School is a boys only public secondary school run by the New South Wales Department of Education, located in Panania, New South Wales, a suburb in south-western Sydney....
and switched coaches to swim alongside his sister under the tutelage of Doug Frost. It was a busy year for the family; Christina was selected for the Australian team to compete at the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships
Pan Pacific Swimming Championships
The Pan Pacific Swimming Championships is a long course swimming event first held in 1985. The meet was initially staged biennially , to allow for an international championship-level meet in the non-Olympic and non-World Championships years...
in Atlanta. 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.
National debut
Thorpe competed at the 1996 Australian Age Championships in BrisbaneBrisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
, winning five gold, two silver and two bronze medals. His times in the 400 m freestyle and 200 m backstroke
Backstroke
The backstroke, also sometimes called the back crawl, is one of the four swimming styles regulated by FINA, and the only regulated style swum on the back. This has the advantage of easy breathing, but the disadvantage of swimmers not being able to see where they are going. It is also the only...
qualified him for the Australian Championships, which doubled as selection trials for the 1996 Atlanta Olympics
1996 Summer Olympics
The 1996 Summer Olympics of Atlanta, officially known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad and unofficially known as the Centennial Olympics, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States....
. 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. As expected, Thorpe missed selection; he finished 23rd in the 400 m freestyle and 36th in the 200 m backstroke. 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 Short Course World Championships
1997 FINA Short Course World Championships
The 3rd FINA Short Course World Championships were held at the Scandinavium in Gothenburg, Sweden from April 17 – April 20, 1997.-Men:-Women:-Medal table:-References:* * *...
. Thorpe qualified in second place in the heats of the 400 m individual medley to reach his first national final. However, he swam more slowly in the final and missed selection.
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; 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, Thorpe went into the Australian Championships in Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
as a serious contender for selection in the national team for the 1997 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships
1997 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships
The seventh edition of the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, a long course event, was held in Fukuoka, Japan, from August 10–13, 1997.-Men's events:-Women's events:-References:**...
in Fukuoka
Fukuoka, Fukuoka
is the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture and is situated on the northern shore of the island of Kyushu in Japan.Voted number 14 in a 2010 poll of the World's Most Livable Cities, Fukuoka is praised for its green spaces in a metropolitan setting. It is the most populous city in Kyushu, followed by...
, 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
Kieren Perkins
Kieren John Perkins OAM , is a former Australian professional swimmer. One of the world's best-ever long-distance swimmers, he won two Olympic gold medals in 1992 and 1996 in the 1500-metre freestyle, and a silver medal in 2000....
and Daniel Kowalski
Daniel Kowalski
Daniel Steven Kowalski is a former Australian middle- and long-distance swimmer specialising in freestyle events. He competed in the Olympic Games in 200 m, 400 m and 1,500 m individual freestyle events and in the 4x200 m freestyle relay...
; both had won Olympic medals in the event. Thorpe went on to win bronze behind 16-year-old Queenslander Grant Hackett
Grant Hackett
Grant Hackett OAM is an Australian former swimmer most famous for winning the men's 1500 metres freestyle race at both the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney and the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. This achievement has led him to be regarded as one of the greatest distance swimmers in history...
, setting a new personal best of 3 min 53.44 s. The time was a world record for his age group and the race was the first of many battles with Hackett.
Aged 14 years and 5 months, Thorpe became the youngest ever male to be selected for the Australian team, surpassing John Konrads
John Konrads
John Konrads is an retired Australian freestyle swimmer of the 1950s and 1960s, who won the 1500 m freestyle at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. In his career, he set 26 individual world records, and after his swimming career ended, was the Australasian director of L'Oréal, as well as campaigning...
' record by one month. 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. He set six Australian records in the process.
International debut
In June 1997, two months before the Pan Pacific Championships, Thorpe required an appendixVermiform appendix
The appendix is a blind-ended tube connected to the cecum , from which it develops embryologically. The cecum is a pouchlike structure of the colon...
operation, which caused him to miss two weeks of training. 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. 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
Michael Klim
Michael Klim OAM is a Polish-born Australian swimmer. He was born in Gdynia. He was educated at the University High School, Melbourne and Wesley College, Melbourne where he is currently employed as the College's elite Head Coach of swimming...
, Ian van der Wal
Ian van der Wal
Ian van der Wal was an Australian sprint-middle distance freestyle swimmer, who represented Australia at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. He was a member of the 4x100m and 4x200m freestyle relay teams...
and Hackett, Thorpe claimed silver, making him the youngest ever Pan Pacific medalist. 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. His finishing burst was to become a trademark, and his time would have been enough to win silver at the Atlanta Olympics
1996 Summer Olympics
The 1996 Summer Olympics of Atlanta, officially known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad and unofficially known as the Centennial Olympics, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States....
. In October 1997, a few days before his fifteenth birthday, Thorpe competed in qualifying trials in Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
for the 1998 World Aquatics Championships
1998 World Aquatics Championships
The 1998 World Aquatics Championships or the 8th FINA World Swimming Championships were held in Perth, Western Australia, Australia between 8 January and 17 January 1998....
in Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
. 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.
1998 World Aquatics Championships
Thorpe's first international appearance in his home country, at the 1998 World Championships1998 World Aquatics Championships
The 1998 World Aquatics Championships or the 8th FINA World Swimming Championships were held in Perth, Western Australia, Australia between 8 January and 17 January 1998....
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
Tom Malchow
Thomas James Malchow is a swimmer from the United States, who won a gold medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics and a silver medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics. He broke Denis Pankratov's world record in the 200 m butterfly in 2000.Malchow was also a captain of the U.S. Men's Swimming Team at the 2004...
to set a split time of 1 min 47.67 s, the same as Klim's winning time in the 200 m final. 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, it was the first time that Australia had won the event at the global level since 1956. 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. Thorpe's time was the fourth fastest in history and made him the youngest ever male individual world champion.
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. 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.
1998 Commonwealth Games
Thorpe's next competition was in March at the Australian Championships in Melbourne, which were selection trials for the 1998 Commonwealth Games1998 Commonwealth Games
The 1998 XVI Commonwealth Games were held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 11 September to 21 September 1998 making it the first Asian country to act as host and the last Commonwealth Games for the 20th century. A record 70 nations supplied 3638 athletes...
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. Thorpe's time was a Commonwealth record 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.
Thorpe's rise continued when the Australians arrived in Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...
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
Giorgio Lamberti
-Early life:Lamberti was born in Brescia, Lombardy.At six, he was advised to begin swimming to improve his light physique.-Career:At 17, in 1986, he won the first of his six Italian championships...
's world record. 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
Unified Team
The Unified Team was the name used for the sports team of the former Soviet Union at the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville and the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. The IOC country code was EUN, after the French name, Équipe Unifiée...
set in 1992 by 0.09 s. 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. He claimed a fourth gold in the 400 m freestyle, setting another personal best, just 0.55 s slower than Kieren Perkins' 1994 mark.
Thorpe left school at the end of year after completing Year 10. His decision caused concerns that concentrating on swimming alone could lead to burn out. Thorpe disagreed, pointing to his informal search for knowledge, stating that "Swimming is a small part of my life". 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
Swimming World Swimmers of the Year
The Swimming World Magazine Swimmers of the Year, awarded by the American-based Swimming World Magazine, are a set of awards which are often regarded as being the most prestigious in the sport of swimming...
.
World record breaking phase
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 Championships1999 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships
The eighth edition of the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, a long course event, was held in 1999 at the Sydney International Aquatic Centre in Sydney, Australia, from 22–29 August...
. Thorpe again won the 400 m, but Perkins' record eluded him, this time by just 0.05 s. Hackett turned the tables in the 200 m event, passing Thorpe in the final 50 m to win Thorpe's title. Although both were outside Lamberti's mark, Hackett went on to break it the following night in a relay event. 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 FINA Short Course World Championships
1999 FINA Short Course World Championships
The 4th FINA Short Course World Championships were held in Hong Kong Coliseum, Hong Kong from 1–4 April 1999.-50 m Freestyle:-100 m Freestyle:-200 m Freestyle:-400 m Freestyle:-1500 m Freestyle:-50 m Backstroke:-100 m Backstroke:...
, 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. 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.
1999 Pan Pacific Championships
The 1999 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships1999 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships
The eighth edition of the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, a long course event, was held in 1999 at the Sydney International Aquatic Centre in Sydney, Australia, from 22–29 August...
were held in August at Sydney Olympic Park
Sydney Olympic Park
Sydney Olympic Park is a suburb in western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Sydney Olympic Park is located 16 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Auburn Council....
, and were viewed as a rehearsal for the 2000 Summer Olympics
2000 Summer Olympics
The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
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
Ryk Neethling
Ryk Neethling is a South African swimmer. He won an Olympic gold medal in the 4×100 m freestyle relay at the 2004 Summer Olympics. He is the former joint owner of the 4×100 m freestyle relay world record and holds several South African records...
in the 400 m freestyle final. 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, and covering the second half in almost the same time as the first. Talbot reacted to the performance by dubbing Thorpe as "the greatest swimmer we've [Australia] ever had", whilst four-time American Olympic gold medalist Rowdy Gaines
Rowdy Gaines
Ambrose Gaines IV is a former American swimmer, U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame member, Olympic three-time gold medalist, and member of the International Swimming Hall of Fame...
, commentating for NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
, 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." 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. Thorpe promptly donated the A$
Australian dollar
The Australian dollar is the currency of the Commonwealth of Australia, including Christmas Island, Cocos Islands, and Norfolk Island, as well as the independent Pacific Island states of Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu...
25,000 prizemoney for breaking the first world record in the pool to charity. Later the same night, Thorpe anchored the Australians to a historic victory in the 4 × 100 m freestyle final, 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. 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. 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. The next day in the final, he again broke the record, lowering it to 1 min 46.0 s. He finished his competition by leading off the 4 × 200 m freestyle team with Klim, Hackett and Bill Kirby
Bill Kirby
William Ashley Kirby is an Australian swimmer who was competitive on an international level in the nineties and early 2000s...
to victory. Their time lowered their own world record by more than three seconds, completing Thorpe's fourth world record in four nights.
Immediately after the Pan Pacific Championships, Thorpe's management announced his signing to Adidas
Adidas
Adidas AG is a German sports apparel manufacturer and parent company of the Adidas Group, which consists of the Reebok sportswear company, TaylorMade-Adidas golf company , and Rockport...
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
Speedo
Speedo International Ltd. is a manufacturer and distributor of swimwear and swim-related accessories. Founded in Australia in 1914, the industry leading company is now a subsidiary of Pentland Group Plc. Today, the Speedo brand can be found on products ranging from swimsuits and goggles to wrist...
, leading to months of protracted discussions and uncertainty. 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. However his performance throughout the year were 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
Australian of the Year
Since 1960 the Australian of the Year Award has been part of the celebrations surrounding Australia Day , during which time the award has grown steadily in significance to become Australia’s pre-eminent award. The Australian of the Year announcement has become a very prominent part of the annual...
, ABC
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
Sports Star of the Year, and Male Athlete of the Year at the Australian Sports Awards.
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. Thorpe embarked on a European FINA World Cup tour in order to hone his racecraft, but this was overshadowed by comments made by German head coach Manfred ThiesmannManfred Thiesmann
Manfred Thiesmann is a former German Olympic swimming coach of the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and 2000s who was the head coach of the German swimming team at the 2000 Summer Olympics.- References :...
accusing him of using steroids
Anabolic steroid
Anabolic steroids, technically known as anabolic-androgen steroids or colloquially simply as "steroids", are drugs that mimic the effects of testosterone and dihydrotestosterone in the body. They increase protein synthesis within cells, which results in the buildup of cellular tissue ,...
. 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, Thorpe proceeded to cut more than 1.5 s from his world short course record in the 200 m freestyle. Given the context of the race, Thorpe rated it as his best-ever performance, ahead of his victories at Olympic and World level. 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.
With the past uncertainties resolved, Thorpe proceeded to the Olympic selection trials at Sydney Olympic Park
Sydney Olympic Park
Sydney Olympic Park is a suburb in western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Sydney Olympic Park is located 16 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Auburn Council....
in May 2000. He again broke his 400 m world record on the first night of racing, lowering it to 3 min 41.33 s to earn his first Olympic selection. The following day, he lowered his 200 m world record to 1 min 45.69 s in the semi-finals, before lowering it again to 1 min 45.51 s in the final. 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.
2000 Summer Olympics
Entering the Olympics, the Australian public expected Thorpe to deliver multiple world records and gold medals as a formality; Sydney's Daily TelegraphThe Daily Telegraph (Australia)
The Daily Telegraph is an Australian tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, by Nationwide News, part of News Corporation.The Tele, as it is also known, was founded in 1879. From 1936 to 1972, it was owned by Frank Packer's Australian Consolidated Press. That year it was sold to...
posted a front-page spread headlined Invincible. 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. 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
Massimiliano Rosolino
-Biography:Born in Naples of an Italian father, Salvatore, and Australian mother, Carolyn, he moved to Australia at the age of three, coming back to Italy at six. Rosolino declared about his beginnings as a swimmer:...
was within a body length at the 300 m mark, Thorpe's finishing kick extended the final margin to three body lengths. This set a new world record of 3 min 40.59 s. 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. Rosolino aside, Thorpe had left bronze medallist Klete Keller
Klete Keller
Klete Keller is an American freestyle swimmer who won medals at the 2000 Summer Olympics and the 2004 Summer Olympics in the 400 m freestyle and the 4x200 m freestyle relay. In the 4x200 m freestyle relay, Keller held off a charging Ian Thorpe in the anchor leg to win the race by 0.13 seconds...
fifteen metres in arrears.
Thorpe lined up later in the night alongside Klim, Chris Fydler
Chris Fydler
Christopher John Fydler is a former freestyle swimmer from Australia, who competed in three consecutive Summer Olympics for his native country, starting in 1992...
and Ashley Callus
Ashley Callus
Ashley Callus is an Australian sprint freestyle swimmer, who won a gold medal in the 4 × 100 m freestyle relay at the 2000 Sydney Olympics....
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. Thorpe timed his dive much better than Gary Hall, Jr.
Gary Hall, Jr.
For his father, also an Olympian, see Gary Hall, Sr.Gary Wayne Hall, Jr. is an American swimmer who competed in the 1996, 2000, and 2004 Olympics and won ten Olympic medals ....
, and surfaced a body length ahead. Hall's sprinting ability allowed him to open a lead by the final turn, but Thorpe's finishing kick overhauled him in the final metres, sparking wild celebrations amongst the partisan crowd. It evoked an uncharacteristic celebration from Thorpe, who immediately jumped out of the pool, screaming and hugging his ecstatic teammates. He even went as far as playing air guitar
Air guitar
Playing air guitar is a form of dance and movement in which the performer pretends to play rock or heavy metal-style electric guitar, including riffs, solos, etc. Playing an air guitar usually consists of exaggerated strumming and picking motions and is often coupled with loud singing or lip-synching...
to mock Hall's pre-race claim that the Americans would "smash" the Australians "like guitars".
When Thorpe broke the 200 m freestyle Olympic record in the heats the following morning, his main rival Pieter van den Hoogenband
Pieter van den Hoogenband
Pieter Cornelis Ruud Martijn van den Hoogenband is a Dutch former swimmer and a triple Olympic champion.-Personal life:...
of the Netherlands conceded defeat. 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, and was under immense pressure to win the final the following day after his double gold on the first night. 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 46.83 s, the first time that he had swum slower in the final than in the qualifying rounds. 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
Scott Goldblatt
Scott Goldblatt is an American swimmer who specializes in the freestyle.-Biography:Raised in Scotch Plains, New Jersey, Goldblatt first began swimming in the children’s pool at his local swim club, Willow Grove Swim Club in Scotch Plains...
in the first leg. Although Thorpe was unable to reclaim the individual world record, he, Klim, Kirby and Todd Pearson
Todd Pearson
Todd Pearson is an Australian swimming champion, who was born in Geraldton, Western Australia. He started swimming on the advice of a doctor treating his asthma. Pearson was vice captain of Hale School in 1994 where he spent time in Faulkner House And St George House.He is no stranger to the...
lowered their world record to 7 min 07.05 s, over five seconds ahead of the Americans—the largest winning margin in an Olympic relay for half a century. Thorpe rounded off his Olympics by swimming in the heats of the 4 × 100 m medley final, and collected a silver medal when the finals quartet finished behind the Americans. Thorpe's performances as Australia's leading medalist for the Games were recognised when the Australian Olympic Committee
Australian Olympic Committee
The Australian Olympic Committee is the National Olympic Committee in Australia for the Olympic Games movement. It is a non-profit organisation that selects teams, and raises funds to send Australian competitors to Olympic events organised by the International Olympic Committee .-Background:The...
granted him the honour of carrying the flag at the closing ceremony. 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.
2001 World Aquatics Championships
With the 2001 Australian Championships held in HobartHobart
Hobart is the state capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Founded in 1804 as a penal colony,Hobart is Australia's second oldest capital city after Sydney. In 2009, the city had a greater area population of approximately 212,019. A resident of Hobart is known as...
in March, Thorpe added the 800 m freestyle to his repertoire, after FINA
International Swimming Federation
Fédération Internationale de Natation is the International Federation recognized by the International Olympic Committee for administering international competition in the aquatic sports...
had added the event for the 2001 World Aquatics Championships
2001 World Aquatics Championships
rightThe 2001 World Aquatics Championships or the 9th FINA World Swimming Championships were held in Fukuoka, Japan between 16 July and 29 July 2001....
. Thorpe began his campaign by successfully defending his 400 m title with a time just 0.17 s outside his world record. The following night in the 800 m event, he drew away from Hackett in the last 100 m to break Kieren Perkins
Kieren Perkins
Kieren John Perkins OAM , is a former Australian professional swimmer. One of the world's best-ever long-distance swimmers, he won two Olympic gold medals in 1992 and 1996 in the 1500-metre freestyle, and a silver medal in 2000....
' 1994 world record by over four seconds. 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. This performance made him the third male after John Konrads
John Konrads
John Konrads is an retired Australian freestyle swimmer of the 1950s and 1960s, who won the 1500 m freestyle at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. In his career, he set 26 individual world records, and after his swimming career ended, was the Australasian director of L'Oréal, as well as campaigning...
and Tim Shaw
Tim Shaw (swimmer)
Timothy Andrew Shaw is a former Olympic medal-winning swimmer and water polo player from the United States. He swam at the 1976 Summer Olympics and played on the USA's team at the 1984 Games...
to hold world records over three distances simultaneously. 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. This indicated that he could swim faster at the subsequent World Championships in Fukuoka
Fukuoka, Fukuoka
is the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture and is situated on the northern shore of the island of Kyushu in Japan.Voted number 14 in a 2010 poll of the World's Most Livable Cities, Fukuoka is praised for its green spaces in a metropolitan setting. It is the most populous city in Kyushu, followed by...
, where he was looking to regain the ascendancy from van den Hoogenband.
Thorpe arrived in Fukuoka having been chosen by broadcaster TV Asahi
TV Asahi
, also known as EX and , is a Japanese television network headquartered in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The company writes its name in lower-case letters, tv asahi, in its logo and public-image materials. The company also owns All-Nippon News Network....
as the marketing drawcard of the event. 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. The relay saw him dive in fractionally ahead of American Jason Lezak
Jason Lezak
Jason Edward Lezak is an American Olympic swimmer, winner of 4 Olympic gold medals.He formerly swam for Irvine Novaquatics. He graduated from Irvine High School in 1994, and then from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1999. He is a member of the Rose Bowl Aquatics swim club...
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. 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. 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. Thorpe's winning streak was interrupted in the 100 m freestyle when his personal best of 48.81 s placed him fourth, 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. 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
Matt Welsh
Matthew "Matt" Welsh is an Australian swimmer who is the former world champion in the backstroke and butterfly. Welsh trained under coach Ian Pope at the Melbourne Vicentre Club. He took two golds in 50 metres butterfly and 50 metres backstroke, during one hour, at the World Championships in...
, Regan Harrison
Regan Harrison
Regan Harrison was an Australian breaststroke swimmer of the 1990s and 2000s, who won the silver medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney as part of the 4×100 m medley relay team....
and Geoff Huegill
Geoff Huegill
Geoffrey Andrew Huegill , nicknamed Skippy and Skip, is an Australian butterfly swimmer...
had finished their legs, Thorpe's change left him half a body length behind the new 100 m world champion Anthony Ervin
Anthony Ervin
Anthony Lee Ervin is a former American swimmer. He has won two Olympic medals and two World Championship golds....
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. This made Thorpe the only swimmer to have won six gold medals at a World Championships, and the first since Shaw in 1974 to win the 200–400–800 treble. 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
1956 Summer Olympics
The 1956 Melbourne Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was held in Melbourne, Australia, in 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, which could not be held in Australia due to quarantine regulations...
that Australia had topped the medal tally at a global meet. Thorpe's achievements led to predictions that he could match Mark Spitz
Mark Spitz
Mark Andrew Spitz is a retired American swimmer. He won seven gold medals at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games, an achievement only surpassed by Michael Phelps who won eight golds at the 2008 Olympics....
's seven gold medals at the 1972 Summer Olympics
1972 Summer Olympics
The 1972 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from August 26 to September 11, 1972....
, which he played down.
2002 Commonwealth Games and Pan Pacific Championships
Thorpe began competition in 2002 at the Australian Championships in BrisbaneBrisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
in March, which were used to select the team for the 2002 Commonwealth Games
2002 Commonwealth Games
The 2002 Commonwealth Games were held in Manchester, England from 25 July to 4 August 2002. The XVII Commonwealth Games was the largest multi-sport event ever to be held in the UK, eclipsing London's 1948 Summer Olympics in numbers of teams and athletes participating.After the 1996 Manchester...
in Manchester and the 2002 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships
2002 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships
The ninth edition of the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, a long course event, was held in 2002 in Yokohama International Swimming Pool in Yokohama, Japan, from August 24–29. One world record was set over the six-day competition....
. 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
Mark Spitz
Mark Andrew Spitz is a retired American swimmer. He won seven gold medals at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games, an achievement only surpassed by Michael Phelps who won eight golds at the 2008 Olympics....
's seven gold medals. 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. 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. He also experimented by adding the 100 m backstroke to his repertoire, placing second. This earned him a Commonwealth spot in a seventh event, leading to further media speculation that he could match Spitz.
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. 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. His reasoning that the strength gains would outweigh any loss in flexibility raised concerns over his physiological strategy. On the first night in Manchester, Thorpe again lowered his 400 m mark by 0.09 s to 3 min 40.08 s, before anchoring the 4 × 100 m freestyle relay team to another gold. 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". 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. When he collected a silver in his first international race in the 100 m backstroke with another personal best behind world champion Matt Welsh
Matt Welsh
Matthew "Matt" Welsh is an Australian swimmer who is the former world champion in the backstroke and butterfly. Welsh trained under coach Ian Pope at the Melbourne Vicentre Club. He took two golds in 50 metres butterfly and 50 metres backstroke, during one hour, at the World Championships in...
, 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". Despite Thorpe's assertion that he could not match Spitz, Frost predicted that Thorpe could win nine golds at one Olympics. 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. As a result, he was awarded the honour of carrying the flag at the closing ceremony.
The Pan Pacific Championships followed in Yokohama
Yokohama
is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture and the second largest city in Japan by population after Tokyo and most populous municipality of Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu...
less than a month later, with media speculation about Thorpe and Frost overshadowing the racing. 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. Australia subsequently won the relay, with Thorpe again overtaking Jason Lezak
Jason Lezak
Jason Edward Lezak is an American Olympic swimmer, winner of 4 Olympic gold medals.He formerly swam for Irvine Novaquatics. He graduated from Irvine High School in 1994, and then from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1999. He is a member of the Rose Bowl Aquatics swim club...
in the last 50 m. He subsequently won the 200 m freestyle, and anchored the 4 × 200 m freestyle relay to victory to take his tally to four golds. 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. 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.
Menzies era
After the 2002 Pan Pacific Championships, Thorpe announced that he was splitting with Frost to train with one of his assistants, Tracey MenziesTracey Menzies
Tracey Menzies is an Australian swimming coach, most known for coaching five-time Olympic champion Ian Thorpe, Australia's most successful Olympian, from late 2002 until his retirement in 2006....
, 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". 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. Despite a turbulent year, he was again named by Swimming World as its World Swimmer of the Year.
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. 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.
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, he later admitted that he was "pretty disappointed" with his performances. When he tied with Ashley CallusAshley Callus
Ashley Callus is an Australian sprint freestyle swimmer, who won a gold medal in the 4 × 100 m freestyle relay at the 2000 Sydney Olympics....
in a time of 49.05 s, he was criticised by The Sydney Morning Herald
The Sydney Morning Herald
The Sydney Morning Herald is a daily broadsheet newspaper published by Fairfax Media in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1831 as the Sydney Herald, the SMH is the oldest continuously published newspaper in Australia. The newspaper is published six days a week. The newspaper's Sunday counterpart, The...
which stated "The measure of Thorpe's sprinting ability is that he could only match the efforts of a virus-riddled Callus". 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. 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.
Thorpe arrived for the 2003 World Championships
2003 World Aquatics Championships
Barcelona, Spain was the host city of the X FINA World Aquatics Championships or the 10th FINA World Championships in Aquatics, which were held from July 12 until July 27, 2003....
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, making him the first to win three world titles in the same event. 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, 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. 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. Thorpe again anchored the 4 × 200 m freestyle team to retain the world title along with Hackett, Nicholas Sprenger
Nicholas Sprenger
Nicholas Sprenger is an Australian middle distance freestyle swimmer, who won a silver medal in the 4x200 m freestyle relay at the 2004 Athens Olympics....
and Craig Stevens
Craig Stevens (swimmer)
Craig Stevens is an Australian freestyle swimmer specialising in the 400 m. 800 m and 1500 m freestyle events....
, with a reduced margin over the Americans, who finished less than two seconds in arrears. Michael Klim
Michael Klim
Michael Klim OAM is a Polish-born Australian swimmer. He was born in Gdynia. He was educated at the University High School, Melbourne and Wesley College, Melbourne where he is currently employed as the College's elite Head Coach of swimming...
's injuries left the relay teams weakened, with Thorpe anchoring the 4 × 100 m freestyle team to fourth, 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.
2004 Summer Olympics
After his feats at the 2003 World Championships, SpeedoSpeedo
Speedo International Ltd. is a manufacturer and distributor of swimwear and swim-related accessories. Founded in Australia in 1914, the industry leading company is now a subsidiary of Pentland Group Plc. Today, the Speedo brand can be found on products ranging from swimsuits and goggles to wrist...
had generated significant media publicity by offering Michael Phelps
Michael Phelps
Michael Fred Phelps is an American swimmer who has, overall, won 16 Olympic medals—six gold and two bronze at Athens in 2004, and eight gold at Beijing in 2008, becoming the most successful athlete at both of these Olympic Games editions...
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. 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. 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
Prime Minister of Australia
The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
John Howard
John Howard
John Winston Howard AC, SSI, was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia, from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He was the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies....
describing the situation as a "tragedy". 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
Craig Stevens (swimmer)
Craig Stevens is an Australian freestyle swimmer specialising in the 400 m. 800 m and 1500 m freestyle events....
, 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. This generated ethical debate as to whether Stevens' decision had been bought, and criticism against Thorpe.
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. 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. Having achieved what had eluded him four years earlier, Thorpe reacted emotionally, immediately tearing off his cap, punching the air and screaming. 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. 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, making him the only person to medal in the 100–200–400 combination in Olympic history. After the Athens Olympics, Thorpe took a break from competitive swimming, skipping the 2005 World Aquatics Championships
2005 World Aquatics Championships
The 2005 World Aquatics Championships or the XI FINA World Championships were held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada from July 16 to July 31, 2005...
.
2006: Attempted return and retirement
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 Olympics2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...
in Beijing. 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
Alan Thompson (swimming coach)
Alan Thompson is a former Australian swimming coach, who was once the head coach of the Australian swimming team. He was appointed to the role in January 2005 following the resignation of Leigh Nugent after the 2004 Athens Olympics. He took a redundancy package from Swimming Australia in January...
, who implored him to continue swimming the event. In February, Thorpe qualified for the 2006 Commonwealth Games
2006 Commonwealth Games
The 2006 Commonwealth Games were held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia between 15 March and 26 March 2006. It was the largest sporting event to be staged in Melbourne, eclipsing the 1956 Summer Olympics in terms of the number of teams competing, athletes competing, and events being held.The site...
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.
Soon after, Thorpe announced his withdrawal from the Commonwealth Games due to a bout of bronchitis
Bronchitis
Acute bronchitis is an inflammation of the large bronchi in the lungs that is usually caused by viruses or bacteria and may last several days or weeks. Characteristic symptoms include cough, sputum production, and shortness of breath and wheezing related to the obstruction of the inflamed airways...
, which had stopped him from training. Thorpe's illness was later diagnosed as a strain of glandular fever
Infectious mononucleosis
Infectious mononucleosis is an infectious, widespread viral...
, and after a further delay caused by a broken hand, he moved to the United States in July to work with Dave Salo
Dave Salo
David Clark "Dave" Salo is a swimming coach based in Southern California, USA. Currently, he is the head coach of the University of Southern California men's and women's swimming team, as well as USC's club team: Trojan Swim Club. Prior to his becoming the USC coach, he was the head coach of Irvine...
. Further disruption followed when the Australian switched coaches, citing excessive and ongoing media attention. 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.
Upon his return to Australia, Thorpe withdrew from the selection trials for the 2007 World Championships
2007 World Aquatics Championships
The 2007 World Aquatics Championships or the XII FINA World Championships were held in Melbourne, Australia from 17 March to 1 April 2007...
and announced his retirement on 21 November 2006. 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". Thorpe stated that he retired despite reaching higher levels of fitness, noting "As I got fit, physically fit, my mind also got fit". 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.
2011: Attempted qualification for 2012 Olympics
On the 1 February 2011, Ian Thorpe announced that he would try to qualify for the 2012 Olympics in London. Thorpe's major focus is the 100 m and 200 m freestyle at next year's trials, stating he believes he can offer the most value to the Australian team in the relays. He will not swim the 400 m, claiming he will not have enough time build up endurance for that event. This has led many to see a renewed rivalry with Michael Phelps.Thorpe will swim the 100m Butterfly & 100m Medley in Singapore (November 4–5) & Beijing (November 8–9) before also taking on the 100m freestyle in Tokyo (November 12–13) round of the 2011 FINA Swimming World Cup
2011 FINA Swimming World Cup
The 2011 FINA Swimming World Cup is a series of seven , two-day, short course meets in seven different cities in October and November 2011. Arena is again the title sponsor for the series, with Omega serving as official timer.-Meets:...
.
Style
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 TalbotDon Talbot
Don Talbot OBE is an Olympic swimming coach from Australia. He has coached national teams for Canada and Australia.-Canada:Since the 1950s Talbot has coached Olympic champions and World Record holders for a thirty year period...
to label him as "the greatest swimmer the world has seen". Although Swimming World labelled Thorpe's technique as "extraordinary" and "superior", 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. 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
Shoe size
A shoe size is an alphanumerical indication of the fitting size of a shoe for a person. Often it just consists of a number indicating the length because many shoemakers only provide a standard width for economic reasons....
feet.
Following his retirement, head coach of the US men's swimming team Bob Bowman
Bob Bowman (coach)
Bob Bowman is an American swimming coach, who is the coach of Michael Phelps. From 2005-2008, he was the head coach for the University of Michigan men's swimming & diving team, replacing Jon Urbanchek; as well as the head coach for the club team based at the school: Club Wolverine. He was the...
—who also mentors Michael Phelps
Michael Phelps
Michael Fred Phelps is an American swimmer who has, overall, won 16 Olympic medals—six gold and two bronze at Athens in 2004, and eight gold at Beijing in 2008, becoming the most successful athlete at both of these Olympic Games editions...
—called Thorpe "the greatest middle-distance swimmer of all time and…the greatest relay swimmer I have seen". 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
Australian Olympic Committee
The Australian Olympic Committee is the National Olympic Committee in Australia for the Olympic Games movement. It is a non-profit organisation that selects teams, and raises funds to send Australian competitors to Olympic events organised by the International Olympic Committee .-Background:The...
President John Coates stated that "In 50 years from now Australians will still marvel at the feats of Ian Thorpe". Dawn Fraser
Dawn Fraser
Dawn Fraser AO, MBE is an Australian champion swimmer. She is one of only two swimmers to win the same Olympic event three times – in her case the 100 meters freestyle....
, 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", and lamented that he would not be attempting a hat-trick of 400 m titles.
Allegations of drug use
Thorpe's success has often led to allegations that he had used banned performance-enhancing steroids. In 2000, prior to the Olympics2000 Summer Olympics
The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
, the head coach and captain of Germany's swimming team accused Thorpe of cheating. They asserted that his 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. In 2007, the French sports newspaper L'Équipe
L'Équipe
L'Équipe is a French nationwide daily newspaper devoted to sports, owned by Éditions Philippe Amaury. The paper is noted for coverage of football , rugby, motorsports and cycling...
claimed that Thorpe showed "abnormal levels" of two banned substances in a doping test. Thorpe denied the charges and the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA) later confirmed that they had investigated Thorpe and dismissed the result. FINA dropped its investigation and closed the case.
Thorpe has himself been prominent in the campaign 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
International Swimming Federation
Fédération Internationale de Natation is the International Federation recognized by the International Olympic Committee for administering international competition in the aquatic sports...
for drug-testing procedures that he regards as inadequate.
Sexuality
Known for his long-standing interest in fashion, Thorpe serves as an ambassador for ArmaniGiorgio Armani
Giorgio Armani is an Italian fashion designer, particularly noted for his menswear. He is known today for his clean, tailored lines. He formed his company, Armani, in 1975, and by 2001 was acclaimed as the most successful designer to come out of Italy, with an annual turnover of $1.6 billion and a...
, and has his own line of designer jewellery and underwear. Such interests have fuelled frequent speculation that Thorpe might be homosexual; his picture was featured prominently on gay websites. In 2002, Thorpe finally denied this rumour, asserting that he was heterosexual
Heterosexuality
Heterosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the opposite sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, heterosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, physical or romantic attractions to persons of the opposite sex";...
.
Sponsorship
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, 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. Aside from his swimsuit sponsor AdidasAdidas
Adidas AG is a German sports apparel manufacturer and parent company of the Adidas Group, which consists of the Reebok sportswear company, TaylorMade-Adidas golf company , and Rockport...
, Thorpe was sponsored by Australian corporate giants such as Qantas
Qantas
Qantas Airways Limited is the flag carrier of Australia. The name was originally "QANTAS", an initialism for "Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services". Nicknamed "The Flying Kangaroo", the airline is based in Sydney, with its main hub at Sydney Airport...
, Telstra
Telstra
Telstra Corporation Limited is an Australian telecommunications and media company, building and operating telecommunications networks and marketing voice, mobile, internet access and pay television products and services....
, and the Seven Network
Seven Network
The Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...
.
World Trade Center
The original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...
on the morning of 11 September 2001, having stopped there on his jog, before returning to his hotel after forgetting his camera. 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. Thorpe later became a spokesperson for the unsuccessful New York bid
New York City 2012 Olympic bid
The New York City 2012 Olympic bid was one of the five short-listed bids for the 2012 Summer Olympics, ultimately won by London 2012.New York City's Olympic Bid, run by the private non-profit organization NYC2012, was founded by Daniel L. Doctoroff, who was managing director of a successful private...
for the 2012 Summer Olympics
2012 Summer Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the "London 2012 Olympic Games", are scheduled to take place in London, England, United Kingdom from 27 July to 12 August 2012...
, even promising to continue his career until the games if New York won the hosting rights. Thorpe's interests have also seen him involved in television. In 2002, he played the lead role in the reality television show Undercover Angels
Undercover Angels
Undercover Angels was a 2002 Australian television series produced by the Seven Network which imitated the American Charlie's Angels series. It featured multiple Olympic and World champion swimmer Ian Thorpe, who acted as the mentor to three women who performed good deeds for people in need...
, which imitated the Charlie's Angels
Charlie's Angels
Charlie's Angels is a television series about three women who work for a private investigation agency, and is one of the first shows to showcase women in roles traditionally reserved for men...
series. In the program, Thorpe directed three young women who performed good deeds for people in need. Although it averaged more than a million viewers per episode, it was widely panned by critics. Thorpe has also appeared as an extra in the American sitcom Friends
Friends
Friends is an American sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994 to May 6, 2004. The series revolves around a group of friends in Manhattan. The series was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
.
Thorpe is widely popular in Asia, particularly Japan. In 2000, TV Asahi
TV Asahi
, also known as EX and , is a Japanese television network headquartered in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The company writes its name in lower-case letters, tv asahi, in its logo and public-image materials. The company also owns All-Nippon News Network....
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, 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. 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. It was estimated that more than 80% of the Japanese public watched his races on television. 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
Prime Minister of Japan
The is the head of government of Japan. He is appointed by the Emperor of Japan after being designated by the Diet from among its members, and must enjoy the confidence of the House of Representatives to remain in office...
Junichiro Koizumi
Junichiro Koizumi
is a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 2001 to 2006. He retired from politics when his term in parliament ended.Widely seen as a maverick leader of the Liberal Democratic Party , he became known as an economic reformer, focusing on Japan's government debt and the...
. The marketing drive resulted in an upturn in Japanese tourism to Australia, which was credited to Thorpe. In 2005, Yakult
Yakult
is a Japanese probiotic milk-like product made by fermenting a mixture of skimmed milk with a special strain of the bacterium Lactobacillus casei Shirota. It was created by Minoru Shirota who graduated from the Medical School of Kyoto University in 1930. In 1935, he started manufacturing and...
released a 'Thorpedo' energy drink—which featured a picture of the swimmer on the bottle—in Japan. This was part of an equity deal with the So Natural
So Natural
So Natural, an Australian food brand which produces organic products, is part of Freedom Foods Group Limited, a diversified food company operating within the health & wellness sector. So Natural was formed in 1991 when it started producing soy milk...
food group, in which Thorpe was given a 5% stake in the company—at the time worth A$1.1m—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.
Philanthropy
More recently, Thorpe has also emerged as a philanthropist, starting the Ian Thorpe's Fountain for Youth in 2000. The organisation raises funds for research into childhood illnesses and sponsors a school in Beijing for orphaned children with disabilities. In addition, it works with The Fred Hollows FoundationThe Fred Hollows Foundation
The Fred Hollows Foundation is a non-profit aid organization based in Australia founded in 1992 by eye surgeon Fred Hollows. The Foundation focuses on treating and preventing blindness and other vision problems...
to improve health standards and living conditions in Australian aboriginal
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
communities.
See also
- Commonwealth Games records in swimmingCommonwealth Games records in swimmingBelow is a complete list of the Commonwealth Games records in swimming, ratified by the Commonwealth Games Federation . Competition is held in long course pools.-Men's events:-Women's events:...
- List of swimmers
- Australian Olympic medalists in swimmingAustralian Olympic medalists in SwimmingAustralia has competed in swimming at the Summer Olympics since the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris, after only sending a runner, Edwin Flack to the 1896 Summer Olympics. Frederick Lane was Australia's sole swimming representative at the 1900 games, winning two individual gold medals...
- List of multiple Olympic gold medalists
- List of multiple Olympic gold medalists at a single Games
- List of multiple Olympic medalists at a single Games
External links
- Official Website – Ian Thorpe's official website
- Grand Slam International profile for Ian Thorpe
- Ian Thorpe's Fountain For Youth