Australian Olympic swimming superstar Ian Thorpe has announced
his retirement from a record-breaking competitive career.
"As of 2:53 on Sunday afternoon I decided that I would not be
swimming the world championships (next year)," Thorpe told a news
conference.
"I also made another very difficult decision -- I decided that I
was actually going to discontinue my professional swimming
career."
Thorpe, 24, who won nine Olympic medals and 13 world
championship medals, has gone through troubled times this year with
injury and illness and questions about his motivation.
The swimming superstar has not competed at a major international
meet since the 2004 Athens Olympics, with his bid to come back
following a year out of competition ravaged by illness and
injury.
He was ruled out of the Melbourne Commonwealth Games last March
because of glandular fever and he has struggled to shake off the
energy-sapping illness.
Thorpe -- dubbed the Thorpedo -- won five Olympic gold medals,
three in Sydney in 2000 when he was just 17, and two in Athens in
2004.
He will now miss the 2008 Beijing games.
(AFP November 21, 2006)