Over the next two days, Ian Thorpe will be historically linked to either Jimmy Carruthers or Bobby Simpson.Thorpe, who broke 18 world records before his shock retirement in 2006, is Australia’s most successful Olympic swimmer.
Thorpe has won five golds, one more than Betty Cuthbert, Dawn Fraser, Shane Gould, and Murray Rose.
Now 29, he will be making a much-publicised comeback to the pool in the Olympic Games sudden-death selection trials in Adelaide.
Thorpe will be contesting the 100 and 200 freestyle events, and if not successful individually, attempting to clinch relay berths for London. His first swim will be tomorrow morning in the 200 heats.
It’s a huge ask, especially as he failed to make one final in the lead-up meets to the trials in Singapore, Beijing, Tokyo, Italy, and Melbourne with times way outside his best.
“I thought you can’t swim any worse, so get out there and have a go. This is it, it’s no time to stumble,” Thorpe told a packed national media conference in Adelaide yesterday about his selection chances.
“There are a lot of people wanting me to succeed,” Thorpe added. And that’s categorically true.
But realistically, it will take a super effort from the once super fish to crack London in any capacity other than a team supporter or VIP spectator.
We’ll know soon enough.
Jimmy Carruthers thought the same when the unbeaten world bantamweight champion southpaw made his comeback after seven years out of the ring from 1954 to 1961.
But he was a shadow of his former self in front of good crowds of 13,000 for his first comeback fight against Aldo Pravisani, and 12,300 for the second against Wally Taylor, losing both at the Sydney Stadium.
Then the crowds fell away alarmingly, and it was embarrassing to watch such a superb champion stumble through six fights for two wins and four bad beatings.
I prefer to remember him during his 15 consecutive victories before first retiring, especially the Vic Toweel world title fight in Johannesburg in 1952 when Carruthers knocked out the champion South African two minutes and 19 seconds into the first round.
Carruthers hit Toweel with everything but the kitchen sink, landing 147 blows to Toweel’s one that missed. It was an extraordinary performance by the Australian.
So too the 40,000 who packed the Sydney Sports Ground to see Carruthers retain his belt in the next outing against Pappy Gault.
On the other side of the coin, Bobby Simpson’s comeback to Test cricket after 11 years in retirement was even more extraordinary.
Simpson’s ‘first’ Test career covered 52 Tests from 1957 to 1968, including being captain from 1963, scoring 4,093 runs at 48.15.
The second stage of his Test career was at the invitation of the Australian Cricket Board in 1977 when Kerry Packer’s World Series Cricket decimated the national side.
At 41 years of age, Simpson took over as captain of an inexperienced side for five Tests against India at home and five away in the West Indies. Australian beat India 3-2, but lost 1-3 to the Windies.
Simpson, after 11 years out of the Test scene, scored 176, 100, and 89 against India, with 67 and 51 against the Windies, totalling 776 runs in 10 Tests at 40.84. Phenomenal.
How Ian Thorpe would like to emulate Bobby Simpson over the next couple of days.
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