Ian Thorpe: The Swimmer Page #4

Um, I'm going with nerves...

It's quite strange because, um,

I feel like this

has taken forever to come

but also that the time's flown.

I like how I feel in that kind of

pressure-cooker environment

when all of the hard work

that you've done

comes to a pinhead,

that you have to do this

right then and there.

What's your overriding

sense of emotion?

Um, relief. Yeah.

Thanks, guys.

Good on you, mate.

Oh, Chris,

huge relief for the Thorpedo,

considering he's been out of major

competition for 5.5 years.

It was a pretty solid effort,

in particular in the freestyle leg

in the individual medley.

That will give him a lot of

confidence into the future.

He was sixth-fastest qualifier...

But you swum so well.

No, I didn't think

it was very good.

Right.

And now you're here

and then we go to Beijing.

Beijing, next tournament.

Uh, no, it's OK.

It wasn't that it was bad,

it's just that

I expected to go faster.

And I didn't swim very good.

Didn't you?

No.

Did you watch your back?

Yeah. I was, like, 'Oh,

you made a lot of mistakes there.'

Oh, really?

Yeah.

And I didn't go hard

when I was supposed to.

And then I got slammed

by my coach...

Did you?

..at training.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I got slammed this afternoon... which

is kinda funny.

No.

OK, one, two, three.

That's creepy.

- Um...

- Christian will know.

Christian's got the end.

I think I did market food here.

Yeah, actually, I did.

I had scorpion here.

No.

Yeah, you can have scorpion.

What's scorpion taste like?

Crunchy?

Yeah, it's crunchy,

but it tastes like, um...

Can you remember

Barbecue Twisties?

That's exactly

what it tastes like.

No!

Yeah.

Did you,

when you came here to commentate

and watch the Beijing Olympics,

did you ever think,

'One day, I'm gonna be swimming in

the pool again?'

Nah.

Right!

That's the funniest thing.

Last time I was here, I was like,

'Who'd wanna do this?'

I like, most of all,

his personality.

He has so many

great achievements,

but yet he's so humble.

And he's really nice to everyone

and when he's talking to you,

it's like

you're the whole universe.

He's really sincere.

It's funny

how young and inappropriate

you're allowed to be.

It really suits me.

And it's great

that it's for everyone

who doesn't want to grow up.

So I kind of, like...

You know, I fitted in really well

when I started here.

I'm, like, 'Wow,

everyone's just like me.'

It's quite a young team,

so I've been meeting

some of the new people,

I'm not so out-of-era for them, but

it's odd,

that they were alive

when they saw things that I did.

Do you start to get shaky

or nervous or...?

Nah.

I don't do nervous anymore.

No.

I'm over it.

There's a point where you get to

where anxiety

is actually good for you,

but if you're getting into

the nervous point,

that 'seriously nervous',

it's, you know,

it's not helpful to performance.

Take your mark.

If you qualify ninth and tenth,

you actually have to go

to the marshalling area

in case someone doesn't turn up.

There's a slight possibility

that you can swim.

When you're ninth and tenth,

the last thing you want to do

is to be waiting at

the marshalling area to swim,

'cause you already feel,

like, 'I missed out.'

Yeah, you can go.

Leave all the other swimmers

and go,

'Oh, well, I don't get to swim,'

and you walk off and go,

'Yep, still feel like a loser.'

Ian Thorpe's comeback

to competitive swimming

continues to flounder.

At a World Cup short course meet

in Beijing,

Thorpe failed to qualify

for the 100m freestyle final.

I realise what I have to work on and

it's not things in training.

It's things around racing.

Are you still aiming for

the Olympics next year?

Uh, yes.

Thanks, guys.

Thank you.

Thanks, guys.

Yeah, right.

- Oh.

- Oh.

I use my hand? OK.

So I've gone from a position

where every swim before that,

no-one's beaten me

to going, 'Well,

where do you start off?'

Like, what's a starting point

to get back to that point?

I don't know what it is

and no-one else does.

So when will you know if

you're in the Australian squad?

That's all the trials, yeah?

Yeah. Yeah.

March?

March 15.

Adelaide.

Yep.

15? That's quick.

Should be the end of March.

That's in two weeks.

What is it?

17 weeks now or something?

Don't talk like that.

Your, um, prime minister,

Helen Clark,

did she used to play rugby?

Yeah. She was the captain.

OK. She looks like it.

Oh, don't you be trash-mouthing my

Prime Minister

when your one's a...

She's not... Oh, come on. Come on.

Eugh.

What, a little bit of a makeover?

Helen Clarke?

A little bit of foundation and, you

know, dulling down the rang

does not make a hottie.

She's not hot, but Helen Clark,

she's been bashed.

OK, if you had to,

which one would you kiss?

- Nah.

- Who would you rather?

If you had to. Tongue-y.

Oh, I feel ill.

Clark or Gillard?

Jule?

Yeah, I'd do Julia.

Would you?

Yeah, for shizzle.

As long as she doesn't speak.

I'm not kicking it.

Pull it.

You pull it.

Come on.

Come on.

I'm not pulling your bags.

Come on.

Please welcome

the Olympic athletes.

Give your hands, please.

And, you know, this was probably

a pivotal stepping stone for me

in my preparation

for the Olympic Games.

Oh!

I performed easy fast.

You're able to swim fast,

but it feels easy.

And although

you're not going easy,

you feel effortless,

and it's when your stroke,

it just falls into place,

and, you know,

it's kind of what we train for,

what we try and feel

and experience in swimming.

It's when you get the rhythm

and the balance right,

everything just falls into place.

I think it was

a significant race for him.

Like, 50.2 in Beijing

was a good starting point,

but, you know, it was essential,

really, he swam under 50.

In this series,

his strength has always been

the back half of his races,

so to see that coming back

into vogue is a good thing.

Take your marks.

Two months

before Olympic trials,

Ian Thorpe's admitted he's

struggling for the first time

after missing the final

of the 100m freestyle

at the Victorian titles today.

But Thorpe says his first race

in Australia in six years

was not a setback,

despite finishing 13th overall.

Having a pretty major problem

with anxiety before I swim.

I've had anxiety

before I've raced,

but it's always been

a really healthy, good amount,

the kind of amount

that makes you fire,

not the amount that makes you

feel like you can't breathe.

Um, so when I dive

in the pool now,

I feel like I can't breathe

and I think I'm drowning,

um, which, when you're a swimmer

is kind of really not good.

Take your mark.

Once I stand on the blocks,

even more,

and then when I hit the water, it's

the worst.

I feel like I don't have

enough air in my lungs

when I dive into the water

for at least, um,

for at least 30 seconds.

Yeah, I'm physically breathing,

um, like, it's, like,

crazy-people talk,

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes