Ian Thorpe

Swimmer

• Born: October 13, 1982
• Place of Birth: Paddington, New South Wales, Australia

SPORT: Swimming

Early Life

Ian Thorpe was born on October 13, 1982, in Paddington, Australia, a suburb of Sydney. His father, Ken, a professional cricket player, had been pressured by his own father to play sports; therefore, Ken and Margaret, Thorpe’s mother, resolved not to push their children where sports were concerned. Nonetheless, Thorpe started swimming at the age of eight after becoming tired of watching his older sister, Christina, compete at swim meets. Thorpe was diagnosed with an allergy to chlorine; undaunted, he swam wearing a nose guard, and eventually, his allergy cleared up.

One possible explanation for Thorpe’s swimming success was his exceptionally big feet. Physiologists and other experts commenting on his later accomplishments were divided on the issue of whether large feet provide any real advantage in competitive swimming. Thorpe’s appendages did not stop growing until they had reached a shoe size of seventeen.

Early Competitive Career

Thorpe made his international swimming debut in March 1997 at the Pan-Pacific Championships in Fukuoka, Japan. At fourteen, he was the youngest swimmer selected to the Australian national team since John Konrads in 1956. At the Pan-Pacific Championships, Thorpe improved on his personal best times in all events he entered, ultimately winning a silver medal in the 400-meter freestyle behind his teammate Grant Hackett.

The following January, Thorpe and Hackett were on the 4 x 200-meter freestyle relay team at the World Swimming Championships. The team set a Commonwealth record as it won the event. In Thorpe’s other race, the 400-meter freestyle, he narrowly beat Hackett by 0.15 of a second. Thorpe expressed astonishment at the outcome. He had become the youngest male swimming world champion in history.

The Australian Swimming Championships followed, where Thorpe set another Commonwealth record with his time of 1:47.24 in the 200-meter freestyle. In 1998, he was victorious at the Commonwealth Games—where he won four gold medals—the FINA World Cup, and the World Short Course Championships in Hong Kong. In November 1998, Thorpe was named Swimming World magazine’s Male Swimmer of the Year.

The following year, at the 1999 Pan-Pacific Championships, Thorpe’s rise to the upper echelons of the swimming world continued. He set world records with his times in the 200- and 400-meter freestyle events, and he helped his team set another world record in the 4 x 200-meter relay. He won a fourth gold medal with the 4 x 100-meter freestyle relay team. In the aftermath of the games, Ian was featured prominently in reports by the media, which had dubbed him “Thorpedo.” Most swimmers use a six-beat kick—six kicks to two arm strokes. Thorpe hit eight and even ten beats of the legs for every two arm strokes.

Shortly afterward, at the Australian Short Course Championships, Thorpe won two more gold medals. He was named Australian Swimmer of the Year and Swimming World’s World Swimmer of the Year. Additional accolades included designation as Young Australian of the Year, honoring him as one of Australia’s highest achievers. He also won the Young Australian Sports Award. He had broken ten world records in just two years.

Thorpe’s rise to the top was so fast that some eyed it with suspicion, though rumors of drug use could not be proven. Living at home with his parents and eating, as he said, 99 percent of his meals there helped him focus totally on his goals. In fact, swimming was hardly mentioned in the Thorpe household, although Ian credited his family’s support in allowing him to excel in feats he could not have otherwise accomplished.

Olympic Medalist

At the 2000 Olympic trials, the media’s attention was so thoroughly focused on Thorpe that the head Australian swimming coach was driven to remind people that Thorpe was only seventeen years old. At the trials, Thorpe did not disappoint. He lowered the world-record time he had set for the 400 meters, then bettered the time he had established for the world’s fastest 200-meter race. At a press conference after the trials, he repeatedly said how proud he was to have qualified for the Australian Olympic team. His humility was also evident when, in a television studio waiting room, he met Shane Gould, Australia’s darling of the 1972 Olympics. As she showed him her collection of swimming medals, she said, “You’ll have a bunch of your own soon.” Thorpe replied, “I’d be happy with one.”

As the 2000 Olympics drew closer, every move Thorpe made was reported by the media, and his fans recognized him everywhere he went. He moved his Olympic training base out of Australia—to Colorado Springs, Colorado—to minimize local distractions. Upon his return to Sydney in the weeks leading up to the Games, Thorpe saw his face plastered on billboards around his hometown.

Despite the pressure heaped on Sydney’s hometown boy, Thorpe won three gold medals, each in world record time, at the Olympic Games. He swam the 400-meter freestyle in 3:40.59. With his team, Thorpe set records of 3:13.67 for the 4 x 100-meter freestyle relay and 7:07.05 for the 4 x 200-meter freestyle relay. In addition, Thorpe won a silver medal in the 200-meter freestyle race.

After the Olympics ended, Thorpe dove into a tank full of sharks for a sponsor’s publicity stunt at his first public appearance in Sydney. He made the talk-show circuit in both Australia and the United States and also wrote a book, Ian Thorpe: The Journey (2000).

At the Ninth World Swimming Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, in July 2001, Thorpe turned in a performance reminiscent of Mark Spitz’s legendary feat at the 1972 Olympics. Although Thorpe’s six gold medals fell one shy of Spitz’s seven, Thorpe’s performance was in many ways more impressive because of the high quality of his competition. He set world records in six individual events—including the 100-, 400-, and 800-meter freestyles—and anchored Australia to wins in the 4 x 100-meter medley relay and 4 x 100- and 4 x 200-meter freestyle relays—the last of these in a world-record time.

Along the way, Thorpe’s 4 x 100-meter freestyle relay team dealt the United States its first-ever loss in that event. The Australian team collected thirteen gold medals overall to beat a US swimming team for the first time ever in a major competition. Thorpe set a record for world records by raising his total to seventeen—twelve individual and five relay—to move ahead of fellow Australian Dawn Fraser’s long-standing record of fourteen. Not surprisingly, Thorpe was named the male swimmer of the meet.

In 2002, at the Commonwealth Games, Thorpe won six gold medals and one silver medal in the 100-meter backstroke. In 2003, he won another three gold medals at the World Aquatics Championships in Barcelona, Spain. He seemed on track to triumph at the 2004 Athens Olympics. However, at the Olympic trials in March 2004, Thorpe lost his balance on the blocks at the Sydney International Aquatic Center for the start of the 400-meter freestyle. He toppled into the pool before the starter’s gun fired, an automatic disqualification. Thorpe’s training partner and friend, Craig Stevens, finished second to grab the second berth on the team. For weeks, debate raged over whether Stevens should surrender his spot in the 400 meters to Thorpe and focus on the 1500 meters, for which he had also qualified. Stevens gave his place to Thorpe, who won the gold. Thorpe also took home the gold in the 200-meter freestyle, silver in the 4 x 200-meter relay, and bronze in the 100-meter freestyle. The Athens Olympics were Ian’s last international swimming event.

Ian hosted his own television show, Undercover Angels, and designed a range of jewelry with Autore South Sea Pearls. He also served as an ambassador for Armani clothing. In May 2005, he launched the Ian Thorpe for Men skincare range that included an Eau de Parfum, aftershave, deodorant, and hair and body wash. Ian announced his retirement in November 2006 after withdrawing from the selection trials for the 2007 World Championships. He attempted a comeback for the 2012 London Olympics but did not advance to the semifinals in the 2012 Australian Olympic Trials in Adelaide. Instead, he worked as a commentator for the British Broadcasting Corporation during the Games. Thorpe continued making media appearances throughout the 2010s and 2020s. He presented a documentary on bullying for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in 2017. Following the publication of two cookbooks, Thorpe appeared on Celebrity MasterChef Australia in 2021. In the mid-2010s, Thorpe went public with his sexuality when he announced that he identified as a gay man. He went on to become an advocate for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and Queer (LGBTQ+) community. In 2022, Thorpe was inducted into the Swimming Australia Hall of Fame.

Summary

Ian Thorpe won more Olympic gold medals than any other Australian, more world championship victories than any other swimmer, and set twenty-two world records. More than just an outstanding swimmer, Thorpe was compared to golf phenomenon Tiger Woods for the scope of his influence on youth in sports. “He … bec[a]me a similar type of hope, a role model,” said 1988 Olympic 200-meter champion Duncan Armstrong.

Bibliography

Bond, Nick. “Ian Thorpe on Celebrity MasterChef: Cookbook Past Exposed.” News.com.au, 10 Oct. 2021, www.news.com.au/entertainment/tv/reality-tv/ian-thorpe-embarrassed-as-cookbook-past-exposed-on-celebrity-masterchef/news-story/74ef6fc988f19e220401238e3549e8b5. Accessed 10 June 2024.

Dusevic, Tom. “The Stuff of Heroes.” Time International, vol. 156, 25 Sept. 2000, p. 64.

Hunter, Greg. Ian Thorpe: The Biography. Sydney: Macmillan, 2004.

“Ian Thorpe.” Time, vol. 156, 11 Sept. 2000, p. 76.

“Ian Thorpe Fails to Qualify for 2012 London Games.” ESPN, 17 Mar. 2012, www.espn.com/olympics/swimming/story/‗/id/7703462/ian-thorpe-fails-qualify-2012-london-games. Accessed 10 June 2024.

Mullen, P. H. Gold in the Water: The True Story of Ordinary Men and Their Extraordinary Dream of Olympic Glory. New York: St. Martin’s Griffin, 2003.

Rocca, Jane. “Ian Thorpe: 'If I Find the Right Person, I Do Plan to Settle Down.'” The Sydney Morning Herald, 13 Aug. 2023, www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/life-and-relationships/ian-thorpe-if-i-find-the-right-person-i-do-plan-to-settle-down-20230726-p5drfk.html. Accessed 10 June 2024.

Smith, Gary. “A Kid Who Is Pure Gold.” Reader’s Digest, vol. 156, 2000, pp. 74–81.

Swanton, Will. Ian Thorpe: Early Days—Unauthorized Biography. Melbourne: Legend, 2002.

Thorpe, Ian. Ian Thorpe: The Journey. South Yarra: Macmillan of Australia, 2000.

Thorpe, Ian. This Is Me: The Autobiography. London: Simon, 2012.

Zeigler, Cyd. “Olympic Swimmer Ian Thorpe Said he Was 16 the First Time a Reporter Asked if he Were Gay.” Outsports, 21 Feb. 2024, www.outsports.com/2024/2/21/24079695/ian-thorpe-olympic-swimmer-australia-gay-coming-out-closet-reporter. Accessed 10 June 2024.