In the past two days, two of Australia’s greatest Olympic achievers have been in the news. Both Dale Begg-Smith and Ian Thorpe have hit the headlines for behaviour different to the somewhat dreamy images.
For those who need reminding, Thorpe, with his big feet and pure black wetsuit, is arguably the greatest swimmer this country has produced.
Begg-Smith, the shy millionaire who probably learnt most of his knowledge of Australia from his Canadian geography text, is arguably this country’s greatest achiever on the white powder.
Both men appear introverted and uneasy with the fact they are successful athletes, let alone successful people.
Both men appear underwhelmed and almost detached whenever a camera, microphone or reporter are anywhere nearby.
And both men, although great Australian champions, prefer to reside in the quieter parts of the world, where they can go about their lives without the burden of being successful athletes.
If Thorpe has ever taken a sideways glance towards Begg-Smith, he must envy the solitude and the large amount of privacy Begg-Smith has.
Remember at some point in 2013, Australian Olympic officials could not locate where Begg-Smith was or whether he would even compete in his favoured event again.
After the events of this week, Thorpe can only dream that scenario could be his.
Ian Thorpe has always been a divisive figure.
On the one hand, there is the supreme athlete who as soon as he leapt of the blocks, you knew a shiny gold medal would come his way.
The athlete who made black wetsuits a must have item of fashion. The athlete who inspired countless young men and women to make that early morning march down to the local pool to do laps rather then remain in their warm beds.
On the other hand, there is Thorpe the person. The man who stands before a camera with the awkward smile and shy appearance.
The man whose mannerisms and appearance have caused his sexuality to be debated more then his actual achievements.
The man who has such private battles with major disorders, yet repeatedly is pushed out into the public environment in order to push the interests of those who pay his bills.
For both Begg-Smith and Thorpe, the bright lights that appear with their success seem to only highlight the dark spots.
Yet their reserved appearances can’t seem to move the lights away, to the dismay of both men.
Both men are champions in their respective disciplines. However their greatest wishes might just well be to be left alone so they can progress from being the champion athlete to the champion human beings they crave to be.
kathleen lopes
Guest
Why do people become so ratty about other people. There is such a thing as live and let live. Thorpe was a great champion and everyone liked/admired him. The media as is their usual wont made some snide comments about him but then journalists are envious people. The other man is unknown (to me at any rate) and probably also to many other people living in Australia, however, that does not call for him to be spoken of so unkindly. Get a life folks!!
DrCanuck
Guest
To compare these two Olympians is to do a complete injustice to Thorpe. On one hand you have someone who has stood up for Australia on the international stage, worn the Green/Gold with pride, been visible at events, taken part in non-sporting charity events and made himself available to the media and to aspiring swimmers for years. On the other hand you have a computer hacker who has lived in Australia for about 2 minutes, provides no support for a fledgling sport in Oz except to tell us how great he is when he wins and disappear when he doesn't, and has NEVER been seen at any amateur event to give kids someone to aspire to. Canada was happy to get rid of this guy...and Australia would do better than to embrace him for winning a gold medal.
up in the north
Guest
When Ian Thorpe represented Australia, he represented me and it still makes me feel good when I see highlight reels. For whatever reason, the guy has the black dog on his back. I'd like to think people would be a little more sympathetic to his plight and not add to his pain. He probably would prefer to be living in Switzerland, where I believe he has a house, and not have to live a goldfish bowl existence here. But maybe he needed family support which he could only get at home, either way it can't be helping him by having such a high level of scrutiny.
Jorji Costava
Guest
Not sure if all the broken families caused by gambling at Packer's casinos would agree that the odd pop up is worse than having to live in a shelter because mummy or daddy have blown the lot on the pokies.
peeeko
Roar Guru
no very good comparisons, the others actually provide a worthwhile and important service to customers. Malware is a bigger nuisance than simply a few pop up windows
AGO74
Guest
On your first paragraph. If you think he is no good on lifestyle shows that is your opinion. It is not fact. Personally, i don't watch lifestyle shows. Nor did I see him provide commentary for BBC at Olympics, however if you google Ian Thorpe & BBC reviews they are overwhelmingly positive. You use the word divisive again. Divisive is a negative word - it infers contentious or acrimonious. Are you saying that Ian Thorpe is that? Anyway, if he is divisive can you tell me anyone that considers him this? A sponsor as part of his comeback announcement? Who would have thought in these days of amateur sports that an athlete or team (by virtue of their management team) would sell out and allow themselves to have a corporation sponsor them for cold hard cash....
Sanchez8686
Guest
I accept that those passionate about snow would take that position. As you've indicated it's just a turn of phrase, so just take it as it is written.
Sanchez8686
Guest
Dale Begg Smith achievements re measurable to Thorpe's if you compare standing within their disciplines: Results[edit] Olympic Results[edit] Date Games Location Discipline Results Notes 15 February 2006 2006 Torino Olympics Sauze d'Oulx Men's Moguls Gold [20] 14 February 2010 2010 Vancouver Olympics Cypress Mountain Men's Moguls Silver [21] World Championship Results[edit] [21] Date Location Discipline Event Result 9 March 2007 Madonna di Campiglio, Italy Moguls 2007 Freestyle World Championships Silver 10 March 2007 Madonna di Campiglio, Italy Dual Moguls 2007 Freestyle World Championships Gold 19 March 2005 Ruka, Finland Moguls 2005 Freestyle World Championships Bronze World Cup Season Victories[edit] [21] Date Discipline 2005–2006 Moguls 2006–2007 Moguls 2007–2008 Moguls 2009–2010 Moguls World Cup Podiums[edit] [21] Date Location Discipline Place 18-03-2010 Sierra Nevada Moguls Silver 1-01-2010 Lake Placid Moguls Silver 16-01-2010 Deer Valley Moguls Silver 14-01-2010 Deer Valley Moguls Gold 09-01-2010 Calgary Moguls Gold 08-01-2010 Calgary Moguls Gold 08-03-2008 Are Dual Moguls Silver 07-03-2008 Are Moguls Gold 16-02-2008 Inawashiro Moguls Gold 20-01-2008 Lake Placid, NY Moguls Gold 18-01-2008 Lake Placid, NY Moguls Silver 03-03-2007 Voss Moguls Gold 02-03-2007 Voss Moguls Gold 24-02-2007 Apex Moguls Gold 18-02-2007 Listel – Inawashiro Dual Moguls Gold 06-02-2007 La Plagne Dual Moguls Gold 05-02-2007 La Plagne Moguls Bronze 06-01-2007 Mont Gabriel Moguls Gold 18-03-2006 Apex, BC Moguls Gold 01-03-2006 Jisan Forest Resort Moguls Gold 04-02-2006 Spindleruv Mlyn Moguls Silver 28-01-2006 Madonna di Campiglio Moguls Gold 22-01-2006 Lake Placid, NY Moguls Gold 20-01-2006 Lake Placid, NY Moguls Gold 13-01-2006 Deer Valley, UT Moguls Bronze 18-12-2005 Oberstdorf Moguls Gold 11-02-2005 Naeba Moguls Bronze 05-02-2005 Inawashiro Moguls Silver 29-01-2005 Deer Valley, UT Moguls Silver Begg-Smith holds the record for qualifying for the most consecutive World Cup finals in events he entered. In March 2010 he reached his 48th consecutive final, in events he entered
Sanchez8686
Guest
Firstly, it is nice to receive your feedback. I would take small issue with your assumption of these being generalisations. Firstly, if you have ever seen him do tv/lifestyle shows, have you ever actually been tempted to watch again? He clearly does not have the personality for media, its always just been an opportunity that presented because of his achievements. He is a divisive figure in the sense that people are unable to tell who he his. He does not present a warm or engaging personality, this fact causes all of the debate. On your final point, it is clearly evident from his evasiveness of any sort of media coverage that on most occasions he would prefer to be left to his own devices. However, items like having a sponsor specifically for your comeback announcement, would indicate that people other than ian are running his professional life.
BA Sports
Guest
you forgot, "if Thorpe has ever taken a sideways glance towards Begg-Smith, he must envy the solitude and the large amount of privacy Begg-Smith has".. Does anyone think Thorpe has ever - much less at this time when he has significant personal health issues to deal with- even given 10 seconds of thought about Dale Begg Smith? I don't want to be too critical because i don't know who the author is, how old they are etc... but this piece is such a stretch comparing a guy who won one gold medal (2 medals total) at the Winter Olympics with zero profile in Australia, to a 5xtime Olympic gold medalist (9 in total), countless world championship medals and world records and arguably our best ever swimmer with a huge profile. What is the point? The saying Apples and Oranges springs to mind...
marcel
Guest
This may sound pedantic...but not a single event at the Olympics will actually take place on "powder" snow....You may think it is just a turn of phrase ..but in truth it would appear to demonstrate a complete lack of knowledge on the topic....no offense intended..but to those that know the difference it just sounds stupid.
Jorji Costava
Guest
Yup, all those lovely pop ups you get when you are on the web. And good on him, very clever. Only wish I had the smarts to do what he did. And no doubt the pooh-pooh brigade will be tut tutting his nautiness. Well to those, go and find out how Franky Lowy makes his money. Same with Gerry Harvey and James Packer. They get money out of completely screwing their customers. Lowy gets you by taking a percentage of your profits in the shops you rent off him, on top of the rents. Talk about privacy right there! Gerry Harvey does you by imposing an 'Australia Tax' on all the stuff you buy off him and he is lobbying the governments to stop us importing, like he does himself. Then good old James Packer, where do you even begin with that guy. 20 years ago, for what he is doing now he would be sitting in a jail for life. Now Begg Smith, a few pop ups you can easily close. Not exactly life destroying. Is Begg-Smith still knocking about? I have not heard about him in years. Just assumed he was too old and finished. Thorpe could have been anonymous, if he chose to be, but he did put his hand out for the 12 pieces of silver from advertisers to put him on loads of tv ads making him instantly recognisable. So I have zero sympathy for him in that area. He took full advantage of the privileges of fame. If I was him I would just go and live in Europe, the Americas even Africa somewhere and people here would forget all about him.
kathleen lopes
Guest
I had never heard of Begg-Smith until he was discussed on ABC radio this morning thus no comment. Insofar as Ian Thorpeis concerned he needs help not scurrilous comment. Why can't the media sometimes show respect for people who have have fallen on hard times or having personal problems?!
AGO74
Guest
This is quite possibly the worst article I’ve read on The Roar. Firstly, it basically ignores the single biggest issue facing Ian Thorpe – depression. Instead it alludes to as ‘behaviour’ plus there are so many generalisations presented as fact in this article: “underwhelmed and detached whenever a camera appears” (er….he’s made a career from TV in commentary and lifestyle shows), “always a divisive figure” (huh? – since when? With whom?), “caused his sexuality to be debated more than his actual achievements” (now you are seriously losing the plot with trashy statements like this), “yet repeatedly pushed out into the public in interests of those who pay his bills” (1. On Ian Thorpe himself - or anyone else with a mental health issue, there is nothing to prevent them having a successful career in any arena as long as they have ongoing and appropriate treatment which is seemingly what Ian Thorpe requires now. 2. For those around him that you refer to, who are these unscrupulous people?).
The not so special one
Guest
He's got an internet company - one of the earliest and best spammers apparently.
peeeko
Guest
are you aware as to how begg-smith became a millionaire?