Ken Thorpe had dreams of his son Ian treading in his first grade cricket footsteps. Ken, who played for Bankstown in the Sydney competition with fiery Test speedsters Jeff Thomson and Lenny Pascoe, was a middle order batsman who took a ton of shifting, his defence was so tight.
I played against him for years.
He was known as a “nurdler”, hardly knocking the ball off the square. When the scoreboard showed he had 40 runs against his name, you wondered how he got there.
He was a prize scalp.
Ian was six when Ken took him to renowned cricket coach David Hourne, better known as “Cracker”.
It took just seconds to “Cracker’s” discerning eye that Ian had precious little ball sense, and wasn’t well co-ordinated: two vital necessities to make it in cricket.
Wondering how he was going to break the bad news to his cricket-mad Dad, “Cracker” asked if Ian played any other sports.
“Oh, he’s showing some interest in swimming,” was Ken’s reply.
Quick as a flash “Cracker” suggested to Ken it would be a good idea to foster that interest.
Fostering a swimming interest in Ian Thorpe had to be the understatement of a lifetime.
The rest, as we all know, is history:
Thorpe announced his shock retirement five years ago after:
* Breaking 18 individual long course world records, and sharing in five relay world records.
* Winning 11 world championship gold medals – the youngest at 14 to qualify, and the first to capture six golds at the same meet.
* Winning 10 Commonwealth Games golds.
* Winning five Olympic golds, the most by an Australian, ahead of Dawn Fraser and Murray Rose, sharing four.
* And the first to be named world swimmer of the year four times.
During that stellar career, Thorpe came out with this classic quote:
“My Mum was a netballer who could swim – just. My Dad can hardly swim at all. Genetically, I don’t think I should be in the pool.
“It was planned that I should be a cricketer, but I didn’t take to the cricket pitch too well”.
What was cricket’s loss was swimming’s gain until high noon on Tuesday, November 21 2006, at the Wentworth Hotel.
I was there in a media maul like none other. We were packed into the press conference like sardines.
When Thorpe dropped his retirement bombshell, you could have cut the air with a knife. Among the odd gasps of disbelief, there was an eerie silence.
The “Thorpedoe” had hung up his togs.
His parting words: “I don’t see myself competing again. I never rule anything out, but it just won’t happen”.
Not so.
Five years later, tomorrow in fact, Ian Thorpe resumes his career in Singapore in the first of three low-key world cup meets including Beijing, and Tokyo.
Thorpe is idolised in all three cities, so the fans will be turning out in droves to renew their faith, and support.
Freestyle, Thorpe’s forte, is not on the menu tomorrow, just the individual medley, and butterfly.
The chances?
He’s looking super fit, having stripped off 10kgs in the last year. He’s even 4kgs lighter than when he last competed.
But six years away from the pool poses real questions.
The 29-year-old Ian Thorpe cannot possibly be as explosive as he was when he was 23.
But he’s not making a comeback for the hell of it. He’s deadly serious even though yesterday’s quote from Singapore had a worrying element.
“Expect little and be happily surprised. All else fails, it will be a good laugh for everyone”.
That’s so wrong Ian. Only the churlish would stoop so low. And there will be some, that’s human nature.
The vast majority of the sporting world want him to succeed, or at least be competitive, on a vastly different world stage compared to what he remembers.
London 2012 is the ultimate aim.
Tomorrow is just a small piece in the jig-saw puzzle Ian Thorpe has set himself.
Tomorrow’s IM and fly won’t prove anything. The freestyle in Tokyo will be a better litmus test to get those shoe-size 17 feet turning the pool into a washing machine.
But he’s back, and that’s given swimming a huge lift in Australia, where it’s been treading water.
So no baggy green for Ian Thorpe. But he’ll settle for some pool medals sooner than later.
Then London.
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