Australia’s most successful Olympian, Ian Thorpe, confirmed today he is training to ‘return to swimming at the elite level’ in a quest to qualify for the London Olympic Games in 2012.
Australia’s most successful Olympian, Ian Thorpe, confirmed today he is training to ‘return to swimming at the elite level’ in a quest to qualify for the London Olympic Games in 2012.
It is an exciting prospect for the Australian Olympic Team and sports fans around the globe.
‘The Thorpedo’ won nine Olympic medals – the most by any Australian – from his first two Olympic campaigns in 2000 and 2004.
Speaking at a huge press conference that was broadcast live around the nation, the 28-year-old confirmed the rumours of a comeback were true. It was in fact the same hotel that in November 2006 a jaded 24-year-old announced he had lost the will to compete and wanted to pursue other life interests. The intrusion and scrutiny on his life had also got too much.
Today a tanned and smiling Thorpe revealed he was hungry again to get back to his very best and prepared to put his ‘normal life’ on hold again.
He said that he never stopped liking swimming but needed four years away from the pool and the scrutiny that went with it. Through his charity and other pursuits he had got great satisfaction. But nothing had been able to match the euphoria of the Olympic Games and he will ‘put the rest of his life on hold’ until the London Games (July 27 – August 12).
So for the only person to win Olympic medals at the 100m, 200m and 400m freestyle in the last 100 years what event s will he focus on?“
I looked at where I thought I could have the most value for the Australian Swim Team and decided on the relay events,” Thorpe said.
“I’ll be focussing mostly on the 100m, which may surprise some people but this is where I think I can add and contribute to the Team in the best way.”
Thorpe will ‘transform from a middle distance racer to a sprinter’, eyeing the 4x100m and 4x200m relays. If he can qualify for individual spots at the Olympic trials in just 14 months (March 2012) he will take those as well.
The four-time world swimmer of the year and breaker of 18 long-course world records began training five months ago. He wanted to test his resolve before making the commitment and revealing his secret.
“I told myself if I could train for three days, then I would try three weeks and then if I could do three weeks I would do three months before making my decision,” Thorpe explained.
He revealed the extraordinary lengths he had gone through to keep his training a secret until he knew it was ‘the right decision’.
He trained at eight different pools in Sydney, asked friends to lie about his comeback, was coached via text message by Australian swimming head coach Leigh Nugent and did not tell his family that he was back in the pool until early January.
"I was really sneaky about how I did my training," he said.
"I never confirmed or denied (a comeback) but I asked everyone else to lie through their teeth.”
Thorpe is happy with his progress back to becoming an elite swimmer and so is Nugent.
The Australian head coach has known of Thorpe’s intentions for several months. He was the first person Thorpe spoke to and Nugent has been texting him his training programs. He also came to see him train at Waverley College, where he noted with Thorpe that his famous stroke was still with him.
“He has been doing significant training sessions and embraced the workload. Even yesterday he added more to the session I had given him because he was feeling good,” Nugent said.
“He is an exceptional athlete with tremendous application to racing. If he puts his mind to it and has no injuries he could be in the mix in the 200m (freestyle)
.“He is doing this to get back to his very best. He will need to improve his underwater work - as Michael (Phelps) has taken this to a new level but we will work on that.”
Nugent is excited to have Thorpe pushing to get back in the Australian Swim Team.
“This will be a fantastic motivator for a lot of our athletes. To have Ian in your team….well a coach couldn’t wish for anymore.”
Thorpe was the star of the Australian swim team at Sydney 2000 as a teenager, where he anchored the 4x100m freestyle team to beat the USA, won the 400m freestyle in world record time, won the 4x200m freestyle and claimed silver in the 200m freestyle.
At the Athens Games in 2004 he won the 200m freestyle, dubbed the ‘Race of the Century’, against Dutchman Pieter van den Hoogenband, American Michael Phelps and Grant Hackett. He also won the 400m freestyle, finished third in the 100m freestyle and silver in the 4x200m freestyle.
Deputy Chef de Mission of the 2012 Australian Olympic Team, Chris Fydler, who swam with Thorpe in the ‘smash em like guitars’ gold medal winning 4x100m relay in 2000, knows how important having Thorpe on your team is.
“He will make a significant contribution to the Australian Olympic Team,” Fydler said after the press conference.
“He is a great ambassador for his sport and very positive for the entire Team.”
Australian Swimming and the Olympic Team have been buoyed recently by former world record holders Libby Trickett and Geoff Huegill also committing to their own London 2012 campaigns.
Dual Olympic rowing champion Nick Green who will lead the Team in 2012 as Chef de Mission, watched the announcement live today with great interest from Melbourne.
“It is very exciting for Ian, the Olympics and the nation,” Green said.
“We wish Ian, Libby and Geoff the best of luck as they strive for Olympic qualification. They would add significant experience and stature to an already very successful swim team.”
Thorpe’s plan is to spend most of his training in the lead-up to the London Games in the Abu Dhabi (Middle East) and Europe, to avoid the distractions and scrutiny that he has in Australia.
“It will be tough to be away from friends and family but with the short timeframe that I have it is the best thing I can do. We will now look to appoint a few different coaches to work with and Leigh Nugent will remain as head coach.”
It is only 14 months until the Olympic trials and 18 months until the London Games. He has submitted his paperwork for drug testing so in nine months he will be eligible to race again.
“This is the last time I physically will be able to do this and I’m going to embrace the challenge.”
And how will he cope with the expectations of a nation?
“The expectations are very flattering and enormous but these are probably outweighed by my own desire to do well. I don’t want to let anyone or myself down.”
When Thorpe visited the Olympic venue in London late last year he 'could taste' what he had been missing.
Andrew Reid
AOC