5 time Olympic Champion, 11 time Long Course World Champion, Twice Short Course World Champion, 9 times Pan Pacific Champion, 10 times Commonwealth Games Champion, 2000 Young Australian of the Year and an Order of Australia Medal... that's impressive.
In the world of swimming, Ian Thorpe has done better than anyone else for Australia... well ever really. Yet as far as the media is concerned, he's fair game to ridicule when it comes to issues of weight (which I'm now sick of hearing in the news) and then have the nerve to accuse him of not trying hard enough. At age 23 he's done far more than most people do in their lifetime and I think that he owes this country nothing. As a sportsman he has had to bear the pressures of the media now for 8 years plus and despite this has made the country proud.
I say that collectively as a nation we should let the chap do whatever he wants, give the man keys to every city and erect a statue on Olympic Boulevarde. The Thorpedo is probably one of Australia's top five all-time sporting heroes. His name would have no problem sitting along side Dawn Fraser, Don Bradman and Rod Laver; if the chap doesn't want to swim anymore then who are we to judge? Australia needs to grow up a bit here, so that Thorpey can go back and live the childhood stolen from him - which may or may not include going for a swim.
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