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 years, officials and teammates fear he is going to quit.
``It will be a huge announcement,'' an Australian swimming official, speaking on the condition of anonymity so as not to pre-empt the news, told The Associated Press on Monday.
He declined to give any more details, but said the announcement would have nothing to do with talk in recent days by Thorpe's coaches about lingering effects of a bout of glandular fever early this year.
Thorpe exploded onto the swimming scene as a teenager and swam 13 world records between 1999 and 2002, becoming an international star after dominating the pool at the Sydney Olympics.
Late Monday, the Sydney Morning Herald reported on its Web site that two officials from the Australian Sport Anti-Doping Authority arrived at Thorpe's multimillion dollar home on Monday morning to conduct a routine drug test.
The Herald said the testers were inside his home for about an hour and left without commenting.
The 24-year-old Thorpe won the 200- and 400-metre freestyle events at the Athens Olympics in 2004 but has not competed in a major meet since.
He planned a major yearlong break after Athens, claiming ``mental fatigue'' and hoping to stay fresh for major competitions down the road.
He later decided not to compete at last year's world championships in Montreal, then dropped out of the Commonwealth Games in March due to the glandular fever bout.
Late Monday, visitors to Thorpe's Web site found a one-page message: ``Thank you for visiting Ian's Web site. This Web site has been temporarily closed. However there will be some exciting news shortly.''
It couldn't immediately be determined when the page was posted.
Thorpe has not broken a world mark since 2002, but his best times were good enough to win gold over 200 and 400 metres at Athens.
Thorpe, who spent three months recently in Los Angeles training, had earlier said he still hopes to compete at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
© The Canadian Press, 2007
