Ian Thorpe News

Ian Thorpe was praised Tuesday as an Australian hero who helped elevate world swimming to celebrity status. Supporters and rivals alike said the freestyle swimmer, who announced his retirement Tuesday, would be sadly missed from the competition pool. But no one begrudged him an end to the pre-dawn starts and the daily hours of chlorine-soaked training that have dominated his life for more than a decade. Thorpe, 24, ended weeks ...

Five-time Olympic champion Ian Thorpe retired from competitive swimming Tuesday at the age of 24, saying breaking records and winning medals had lost its allure. Thorpe, who held a news conference at a Sydney hotel, said he decided at ``2:53 on Sunday afternoon'' not to swim at next year's world championships in Melbourne and to end his pro swimming career. ``It's been a tough decision to make,'' he said. ``I ...

Ian Thorpe's swimming career could be over. The five-time Olympic champion has scheduled a news conference Tuesday at a downtown Sydney hotel. A few days ago, it was thought the announcement might be Thorpe's withdrawal from the world championships next March. But with the championship trials next month in Brisbane looming and no sign of Thorpe, who has been plagued by illness, injury and a lack of motivation in recent ...

Five-time Olympic champion Ian Thorpe is reported to be considering not competing at Australia's swim trials in December, which would rule him out of the world championships next March in Melbourne. Australian Associated Press said Saturday the 24-year-old Thorpe, who has been affected by glandular fever in the past year, has missed training sessions since returning to Australia from a three-month sojourn in Los Angeles, which ended in October. AAP says a source told it Thorpe might not ...