Join to receive our 'Greater Together' e-Newsletter filled with all the latest news on our journey to the Birmingham Commonwealth Games. Become part of our Commonwealth Games Australia family and get all the latest news our team members prepare for the Birmingham Commonwealth Games. Birth Place Sydney. Thorpe broke the World Record in that event at Thorpe raced a total of seven events at the Commonwealth Games and cruised in the final to save himself for other events.
He said if he had realized at the time that he was going so fast, he would have gone a little harder in the final. I had no idea until I was looking up at the board. If he had given a little more effort in that race in , Thorpe may still have the world record some 19 years later. Simon Burnett revealed in a interview that he backed off in the yard freestyle final at the NCAAs to save himself for later races.
At the Pan-Pacific meet, Thorpe won five titles — three individual in the , , and freestyles, and two relay championships.
He has set 13 individual world records through Following these arguments, Thorpe changed his workout routines, causing him to gain muscle weight in the upper body — not an effective strategy for elite competition. This drew serious criticism, and Thorpe entered into a year of constant disparagement regarding his pre-Athens training.
At Worlds in Barcelona, he came away with three gold medals, a silver, and a bronze, though he still lacked record breaking times. Meanwhile, American Michael Phelps had begun to make his own name, capturing several records in Barcelona. While Thorpe may have made the statement to protect his reputation, Phelps nonetheless took it to heart. In comparison, the mighty Thorpedo seemed to have fallen from his pedestal.
During Olympic Trials in , he fell even further when he toppled off the blocks before the meter freestyle, and was disqualified. In a touchy debate, it was ruled that an exception would be made for the champion, and the would-be second place qualifier, Craig Stevens, relinquished his spot on the team for Thorpe.
The debate continued, fueled by the question of whether or not Stevens had been paid. Thorpe went on to qualify in both the and freestyle, meaning he would race the Dutchman again. Upon arrival in Athens, Thorpe was welcomed with heavy media attention surrounding the meter free, dubbed The Race of the Century. Along with van den Hoogenband, Michael Phelps would be competing in the event.
In the meter, Thorpe raced against his countryman and rival, Grant Hackett, out-touching him by less than a second. But with out-of-shape and ill teammates, Australia did not land a place on the 4 x free relay podium. Thorpe displayed the formidable power of the Thorpedo in the free final, surging past the Dutchman in the last length of the pool.
After the race, Van den Hoogenband acknowledged that Thorpe was the best. While the Americans defeated the Australians in the 4 x free relay, Thorpe managed a bronze in the meter freestyle, for a total of nine Olympic medals from the Sydney and Athens Games. He opted to take a break from the sport after , but never returned to it on an international level. While he did plan on going to Beijing before retirement, his new event list which excluded his signature event, the free proved challenging, and his times were subpar in comparison to his previous accomplishments.
Soon after, he fell ill with what was thought to be bronchitis, but turned out to be glandular fever, and though he moved to the United States in the hopes of a better training regimen, he found his career in the midst of derailing.
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