Two seconds. That’s the difference between Ian Thorpe’s old 200m freestyle world record and the current world mark. With or without wacky swimsuits, swimming has moved on, and fast, since the Thorpedo quit in 2006.
Yet it seems almost certain that at noon, Ian Thorpe will announce a return to competitive swimming. After all, he’s hardly going to call a big press conference to say “Nup, staying retired. Nothing to see here.”
The question is: will Thorpe be able to cut it at the London 2012 Olympics if he returns?
Most sportsmen who make comebacks do so because they find life deeply unfulfilling after their sporting careers. Somehow, the empty after-dinner speeches and commentary gigs – or god forbid, real jobs – just don’t cut it.
This is the really puzzling thing about a potential Thorpey comeback. Because Thorpe has been busy since retirement, primarily in meaningful ways.
When he’s not hocking god knows what to the Japanese or selling water that’s just like water but with extra watery Thorpey goodness, Thorpe is active as the figurehead of the Ian Thorpe’s Fountain For Youth.
Some prominent sportsmen have foundations which are little more than PR fronts, and which involve little more than the occasional meet-n-greet at a touchy feely event for sick kids, or some such.
But Thorpe is genuinely passionate about his causes, and in particular the welfare of indigenous Australians. In the last few years, he has spent more time on the ground in Central Australia than the guy who picks up the bits that fall off Qantas jets.
Here’s what he told me in September last year, when I interviewed him for the 10th anniversary of the Sydney Olympics.
It was 2003 when I first went into a remote Aboriginal community, and I felt my world had been turned upside down. I was shocked at how bad the living conditions were.
Fortunately, I met a wonderful woman called Milli Wanga who answered all my stupid questions. Even though I’d travelled a lot, I had made the same assumptions a lot of people make. This woman took me through every one of those assumptions. One thing she told me was that more Aboriginal people abstain from alcohol than non-indigenous Australians.
Thorpe went on to say that he was a great critic of the “intervention” instigated by the Howard government and carried on under Rudd. His line was that the intervention was too inflexible for communities with needs that require addressing on a case-by-case basis.
Long story short, Thorpe had a cause which he was passionate about. He even went so far as to say that the work of his foundation outweighed his Olympic achievements.
All of which brings us straight back to the question: why? Perhaps we’ll get answers at noon tomorrow.
The other obvious question is: how on earth can he hope to make up the ground on the likes of Michael Phelps, who inherited Thorpe’s 200m Athens crown at the Beijing Olympics?
One line of thought is that Thorpe might reinvent himself as a 100m freestyle sprinter, rather than a 400m and 200m man.
The shorter event is generally suited to older athletes, and Thorpe is 28 now. And people forget that Thorpe won gold in the 4x100m freestyle in Sydney and bronze in the individual 100m event in Athens. So he has some sprinting form.
For now, we should all hope that if Thorpe does make a comeback, it’s more Kim Clijsters than Tony Lockett. Because even though you’re a long time retired, you’re much longer retired with a diminished legacy.
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