Thorpe quits swimming
Five-time Olympic swimming champion Ian Thorpe retires from competitive swimming.
Great Olympian
Recently the 24-year-old swimmer has been plagued by a series of illnesses and injuries, including a bout of glandular fever earlier this year.
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“I’m very proud of this decision I have made today” Ian Thorpe |
He has not competed in a major international swimming event since the Athens Olympics in 2004, where he won gold in the 200m and 400m freestyle.
Thorpe became a sensation on the international swimming scene as a teenager, and is now regarded as one of the greatest middle-distance swimmers of all time.
He smashed 13 world records between 1999 and 2002 and is Australia’s greatest-ever Olympian, winning five gold medals, 3 silvers and one bronze.
At the Sydney Olympics he became the first man in history to win medals in the 100m, 200m and 400m freestyle events at a single games.
After the Athens Games he announced he would be taking a break from international competition claiming “mental fatigue” and citing the constant grind of training.