E-Paper
Thorpedo stakes his claim to swimming greatness
Ian Thorpe may have been overshawdowed by Michael Phelps but he did manage to overtake Dawn Fraser and Murray Rose for a total of five gold, three silver and a bronze in two Olympic campaigns.
Ian Thorpe may have been overshadowed by US swimming star Michael Phelps at the Athens Olympics but the Thorpedo nevertheless snuck under the radar to stake his claim to Games history.
The 21-year-old won two gold, a silver and a bronze for a total of five gold, three silver and a bronze in two Olympic campaigns, to overtake Australian swimming legends Dawn Fraser and Murray Rose, who each won four gold medals.
And while his achievements were overshadowed by Phelps's eight medals - six gold, and two bronze - the predictions are that in the long run it could be the Australian who will be the most successful swimmer ever.
Thorpe defended his 400m free title in an emotional opening race after a false start at the Australian qualifiers meant that he could not compete in the event in Athens, before teammate Craig Stevens stepped aside to let him compete.
He then went on to mow down Pieter van den Hoogenband in the 200m free to avenge his defeat by the Dutch swimmer four years earlier.
He won a bronze medal behind world record-holder van den Hoogenband and South African Roland Schoeman in the 100m sprint, showing that he can also be a force to be reckoned with over that distance.
"I'm looking at concentrating on the shorter events," said Thorpe, the world record-holder in the 200m, 400m and 800m freestyle.
That was one reason Thorpe took aim at an unprecedented Olympic treble in the 100m, 200m and 400m free in Athens.
He got the 200m and 400m all right, and he sounded like he might be trying for the treble again in Beijing.
"I'm not looking at dropping the 400m yet," said Thorpe, who could become the first male swimmer to swim the same event at three Olympics.
"I'm not prepared to do that. I really do enjoy doing the 100m," he said. "That's why I'm going to continue over the next few years."
Instead, he's just going to try to continue to improve his sprints, with his bronze medal time of 48.56 a personal best.