With Ian Thorpe looking to compete in the 100m and 200m, Michael Phelps has given him full support as the two greats look to face each other in mid 2012. Spyns will be offering 5, 7, and 10 day luxury tours spanning the 17 days of the Olympics.
Michael Phelps is looking forward to a showdown at the London Olympics against Ian Thorpe, according to the American's coach, Bob Bowman. He was reacting to the Australian's announcement he will return to competitive swimming this year.
"I welcome Ian back to the sport," said Bowman of Australia's greatest Olympian. "His presence will only increase the interest and enthusiasm for swimming and we look forward to seeing him back on deck soon. He is one of the true greats and it will be fun to have him back in the mix for London."
After winning five Olympic gold medals, Thorpe retired in October 2006 at the age of 24 citing glandular fever and a lack of motivation. The news of his return has the swimming world salivating over the prospect of the Australian competing against Phelps, who has won 14 Olympic golds. But at a press conference in Sydney, the 28-year-old played down talk of an individual rematch against the American – whom he defeated in the 200m freestyle at the 2004 Athens games in a showdown labelled the "race of the century" – insisting that his sole aim is to qualify for the 4x100m and 4x200m relays. But the Australian was careful not to rule out the possibility of qualifying for individual events.
The obvious question is how he will measure up against Phelps, who is three years his junior. "You say there's a rivalry – I think of the American team as my friends as well. We wish them well, but not too well, [that] can be the official message," said Thorpe.
Rumours of Thorpe's return to the sport had been in overdrive since September after reports that he had been spotted in training. The star said he had been trying to keep his return a secret, asking his friends to "lie through their teeth" as he took time to make up his mind about reviving his career. "I was really sneaky about how I did my training. I've been swimming at eight different pools so that I wouldn't turn up to the same pool twice in a row."
How fast – or slow – Thorpe is swimming will remain a secret as he refused to reveal his current times. He said only that he has five kg to lose and is "swimming faster than when I begun, which is a very good sign because I was actually pretty bad".
Lord Coe claimed that a visit to the London Olympic Park late last year "tipped the balance" in Thorpe's decision, and the Australian did admit that seeing the pool in the Aquatics Centre had inspired him. "It was an extraordinary venue, and I could actually taste it," he said. "I haven't felt like swimming like that for a very long time."
"I never thought that I'd be swimming in a competitive way again. I'm very glad that I am. I'm glad I spent four years away from the pool. I needed those four years."
"The level of expectation that's on me [now] is enormous, it's probably only outweighed by my own expectations, and I won't want to let people down. I don't want to let myself down."
Many in Australia questioned whether financial gain was motivating a man whose sponsor, Virgin Blue, opened the press conference to announce his return. Thorpe rejected those accusations, insisting: "I'm not motivated by money. If I was, I wouldn't have stopped swimming and especially going through the amount of training that I have of late, my drive is for performance and that's it – that's how it works."
After registering with Fina for drug testing today Thorpe will be allowed to return to competition as early as November this year, giving him just nine months of competitive swimming to prepare for the 2012 Olympics.
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