Thorpe Says He’s Accepted Olympic Bid May Fail Ahead of Trials

Not Holding Back Thorpe denied suggestions in Australian newspapers this week that he’s deliberately logged slow times to minimize the pressure on him.
“There may have been a period when I first started back in swimming when I was hoping that I might be able to do it,” Thorpe said at the news conference. “Unfortunately I haven’t had that luxury.”
Thorpe rose to prominence at the 2000 Olympics in his hometown of Sydney, where he won three golds and two silvers. His victories in Athens took him past track athlete Betty Cuthbert and swimmers Dawn Fraser and Murray Rose as Australia’s top gold-medal winner.
He retired in November 2006 at the age of 24, saying he had lost the desire to compete. Since changing his mind, he has been working in Switzerland with Gennadi Touretski, the Russian coach who guided Alex Popov to the 50-meter and 100-meter freestyle gold medals at the 1992 and 1996 Olympics. Qualifying for London would match his achievement in making his first Olympic team 12 years ago, Thorpe said.
“That’s the real lure that I have,” he said. “Kind of approaching this and feeling like it’s almost my first time at these things. There’s a freshness that comes with that.”