Rob's Blog

Australian swimmer Ian Thorpe is arguably one of the greatest swimmers the world has ever seen. In November last year he announced his retirement from swimming after 10 years on the Australian team, citing that he has lost the desire. Today the news is that just prior to his announcement he may have tested positive for testosterone, and this has made people think that it may be related. French newspaper L’Equipe has reported that he showed abnormally high readings for testosterone and luteinizing hormone in 2006, and international swimming body FINA has appealed for a fresh investigation into that test. This could be a big reality check for swimming fans who think that the sport is clean. Everyone is human, and even “squeaky clean” Ian Thorpe could possibly succumb to the pressures to perform. We are yet to hear all the details, but hopefully such reports will keep both the drug testers and drug cheats on their toes and continue the cleaning up of drug use in sports.

Related Pages: Ian Thorpe, Swimming

Even though it is a shock to many sports fans, swimmer Ian Thorpe’s retirement today comes as no surprise. He is quoted as saying that “there are things in my life that are more important to me and I have to pursue them now”. He said he has lost the desire to swim at the elite level, though the truth may be that he has lost the ability to win at the elite level, and as his own expectations are so high he did not want to compete if he could not continue to win and break records. I fear that without competing at the highest level, his public profile will decrease, his worth to sponsors will decrease, and his ability to continue the lifestyle and business interests that he currently has will decrease also. We may not hear of him much any more.

Related Pages: swimming, Ian Thorpe profile

Is Ian Thorpe fat? In a country where we have a real obesity problem, there are people calling one of the world’s greatest swimmers fat because he may have put on a couple of pounds. If he is out of shape, he has shown by his determination and previous workrate that he could easily get himself back to top form. It is most likely that he was just photographed in a non-flattering pose eating junk food. And there is nothing wrong with an elite sports person having some junk food every now and then. As part of a balanced diet there is room for all types of food. As a swimmer he would burn copious amounts of calories before most of us are even out of bed, and so he would need to eat a large quantity of food to provide his energy needs. Let’s wait for the next major championship where he puts himself against the world’s best before we criticise him any more.

Related Pages: swimming, Ian Thorpe profile, sports nutrition

It has recently been announced that the Beijing Olympic Committee are considering turning the swimming program on it’s head, so that the finals are in the morning and the heats in the evening. The reason for this is so the finals are on at prime time in the US. I have no problem with this, and I think the swimmers should welcome it. Although the world’s top swimmers are professional athletes, as with all sports, there are able to be professionals due to sponsors and the public who enjoy watching them perform. By swimming their finals in the morning they are able to satisfy both of these groups. Physiologically, they should be more than capable of swimming their best in the morning. Look at every swimmer’s training program, and you will see that they are up early every day doing laps in the pool. If the Olympic program is switched around, you will see all the lead up meets also change their program around so they can get used to the new schedule. I have also always wondered about how fresh the swimmers are after swimming several heats in the morning then coming out later that day to swim in their finals. Having to come to the pool fresh each day to race their finals, we may well see better performances - then we will not be hearing any complaints.

Related Pages: swimming, Olympic Games, Beijing 2008