When Ian Thorpe decided to return to the pool in February of 2011 his intial goal was to qualify for the London Olympics in the 4 x 100 and 4 x 200 freestyle relays. That goal was far from being achieved. At the Australian Olympic Trials in March Thrope finished 12th in the 200 freestyle (1:49.91) and 21st in the 100 freestyle (50.35).
After missing a berth on the Australian Olympic team Thorpe told the press that he had not regretted his return to the pool and that his failure to make the Olympics was not the end of his comeback, “I intend to [continue]. I’ve enjoyed what I’ve been doing,” Thorpe told The Telegraph.
“I’ve enjoyed training again, I’ve enjoyed pushing myself in the pool and I’ll keep on swimming until I feel I cannot get any more out of myself.”
“I think it’s better to attempt something and fail than it is to not even attempt it, so I’m glad that I’ve been prepared to put myself on the line there.”
Eight months later he still feels the same way.
In an article written by BBC’s Nick Hope Thorpe was quoted as saying, “I still have a life in the pool.”
“I simply didn’t have enough time [before London] to prepare the way I wanted to and I had to compromise.”
“Now I can do exactly the training that I need to do with time on my side and I can get a preparation that will enable me to swim really well.”
Since the Australian Olympic Trials Thorpe has been busy; he worked at the Olympics as a pundit for BBC Television and since November has been promoting his book ‘This Is Me’.
In December he told the Australian he was ready to return to the pool without distraction, ”I’ve had a few things that have kind of interrupted training but I’m happy preparing, and being able to get back in after the Olympics, feeling motivated by the Olympics as well.”
In his most recent interview with the BBC it is very obvious that he is not only enjoying training again, but that he has reconnected with the love he had for the sport as a child, ”Having success again would be what that younger athlete I once was would tell me to do.”
… Thorpe initially retired in 2006 with great reluctance; at the time it appeared the Ian Thorpe brand was becoming much bigger than Ian Thorpe the athlete and simply wasn’t leaving enough time for him to commit to his training.
Even though at the time he stressed that he was too young to retire he felt he needed more balance in his life, ”Swimming has been a security blanket but I haven’t balanced out my life. I realised I had to prioritise other things and let swimming take a backseat,” Thorpe told the BBC in 2006.
“I’m looking at the next phase and that means I’m realigning what the most important thing is for me to do.
“Swimming is not at the top of the list, which has not happened before.”
good luck to him.
I was too young to watch Thorpe I his glory days but when I watch his races I can’t help to marvel at his technique. Has to be the most beautiful freestyle ever.
No. not even close. Alexander Popov is.
Not even close? Come on. You can claim to like Popov’s sprint stroke more, but to say Thorpe’s isn’t even close is just silly. The two freestyles are drastically different, to the point where comparing them is silly.
There was an interview with Aaron Peirsol, and he was asked if he ever saw a perfect swim, and he answered “Thorpe in the 400 in Athens”.
Watch his race and marvel how slow and relaxed he swam, and yet he was far ahead of the other thrashing swimmers.
Grant Hackett was a thrashing swimmer?
I think it’s pointless to argue about the beauty of technique because it’s individual. For example, I like the powerful sprint strokes of Cielo and Adrian.
Anthony Ervin has the most beautiful (and efficient) stroke
It’s great that he’s competing and earning a good living after having squandered much of his wealth, but this guy isn’t going to be a contender going forward. He was great in his day, but without that body suit and the added years I just don’t see him even getting down to a 1:46 in the 200fr.
He broke many individual WRs including 1:45 and 3:41 in BRIEFS.
I watched him did it live in Sydney.
In fact, Thorpe was the LAST swimmer to have broken WRs wearing briefs. Not even Phelps did it.
Whether he is still able to do it is a different matter.
I would bet Sun yang would be able to break a WR on briefs.. at least Hackett 1500 original.. now.. his own from now would be a little harder.. but not impossible..
He may have broken some WR’s in briefs, but if you’re referring to his 400m Free WR in the 2000 Sydney Olympics, he had a full body suit…..
I completely agree.
This might be the greatest WR ever set. 3:41 in a brief. 1999 Commonwealth Games if I am not mistaken (in Sydney?) — it was just under 1 year before the introduction of the full tech suits. The picture of him diving off the blocks en route to this swim made the cover of SwimNews a month later–in a brief. Only Janet’s 400/800 rival or perhaps supersede it.
It was a shot heard round the world. People everywhere were simply shocked and both swimmers and coaches were scratching their heads trying to figure out how they were going to have any chance against this guy.
Always wonder how fast he could go in a rubber flotation suit…..3:35?? His body was ideal for a floater. And that full black suit was the old fabric type, not the neoprene ones they wore in 08-10.
Phelps wasn’t wearing briefs but it should be mentioned that he DESTROYED a WR in the 400 IM in Melbourne ’07 wearing only an FSII jammer…
A little off topic, but why do a majority of rote freestylers breathe every other stroke (looks like a gallop)? As a swimmer I have always been told to breathe every 3 or any so that it is bilateral.
The idea of gallop is to lift your torse and use gravity to move forward. Breathing 3 in practice is important to develop high elbow stroke with both arms.
Meant “torso” off course.
Let him make his comeback. I think it’s great he is still swimming. So he missed it making to London? He had taken some time off…Listen he opened many doors for swimming around the world. Why be haters at all? He crushed it back in the day and he’s still swimming.
Awesome stuff. Look forward to hearing more of what happens next.
Hopefully he’ll work it out of his system and make something of himself, like Michael Phelps has.
Oh wait…
…nevermind…
never anything good to say…
Always negative, negative, negative. Not even Phelps can satisfy the great Volckening.
Enduring memory 1: AIS pool, timekeeping lane 4, watching your 8 year old child stand behind Thorpe in that lane as she waits for the next race, then getting your shoes utterly soaked as Ian came into the wall. I then watched in awe as he spent 3+ hours at the end of the meet patiently talking to each young person lined up and signing autographs for the whole time.
Enduring memory 2: Alex would dive into a public lane at the AIS and spend ages ultra slow swimming on his own with that wonderful high arm action.
As to Thorpe or Popov, both are beautiful freestylers and although quite different people, both Ian and Alex are the complete role models for how things should be done both in and out of the pool.
It makes swimming the great sport that it is hearing stories like this where the athletes are so self-less and afford their time and enthusiasm to kids.
His stroke was fantastic , no doubt in my eyes about it ! Very composed , he made it look even so easy with his smooth freestyle technique . He spend many days in The BBC studios commentating the races with joy and contentment . I felt ” this guy is stilll very cool and passionate about the sport , even though he didn’t make the Aussie Olympic team ” . Millions of spectators saw that on the BBC . I have those recordings … Lovely to watch again .
Happy he is going for it …….
Remember that famous last anchor against Klete Keller at the 2004 Athens Olympics 4 by 200 free relay ? That ‘s a master piece of a relay battle he gave there … Watched that race so many times .
Well it’s a good way to stay fit if nothing else!
i guess he can start swimming since phelps has retired
Like Phelps were the problem for him right?? on 200 free Phelps maybe be a bit of a problem, but I would not think of Phelps as a Gold Contender on 2012, now after Agnel (who is the real problem for a Thorpe now) . Even less.. and on 400 free, which is the event he should return to… the problem is Yang..
The problem is not Phelps, Agnel or Yang.
The answer to the problem is D: Age.
If he tries to come back in anything other than the 100 Free he is swimming young men’s races (relatively speaking of course) with the spring in their steps to recover better from the high intensity workouts that are long in Thorpy’s rear view mirror.
I wish him the best and am a fan and would love to see him back in the mix again (which also might be the carrot MP needs to ‘unretire’ if Thorpe did come all the way back for 1 titanic 200 in Rio)…..but it doesn’t seem very plausible at this point.
Maybe the 200. Maybe.
Thorpe retired right when phelps was getting close and knew he couldn’t beat him!!!!
Thorpe retired right when phelps was getting close and knew he couldn’t beat him!!!!L
It had nothing to do with that. He didn’t care anymore and was tired of it all.