| Sports |
Thorpe to visit Boroko swim club
SWIMMERS in Port Moresby will have a chance to chat with the
world’s most decorated swimmer Ian Thorpe when he arrives on
Wednesday.
President of PNG Swimming Inc Elizabeth Wells said yesterday that
the recently-retired top Australian middle-distance swimmer was
among five distinguished guests who were invited by AusAID and the
Nasfund under PNG Business Coalition on HIV/AIDs programme.
Wells said PNG swimming were fortunate to sway him away from his
normal business to visit the Boroko Swimming Club and tell their
members about his life.
According to tentative programme by PNG Swimming Federation, Ian
Thorpe will be met by Wells (president of PNGSI), Ryan Pini
(Olympic and Commonwealth Games athlete) and Auvitta Rapilla (PNGSF
NOC) at the airport.
The team will then transport him to Airways Hotel to meet with
Australian High Commission officials Bill Costello, Ann Malcolm
and Denise Chang on the briefing on HIV/AIDS awareness programme
for the swimmers.
Thorpe will be given the tour of Port Moresby and surrounding
suburbs before meeting the swimmers of Boroko Swim Club at the Ela/Murray
school.
Thorpe will talk about his swimming career, leading into HIV/AIDS
awareness programme.
This will followed by informal chat with swimmers and officials
before taking photographs.
Wells said PNGSW were very lucky to have him talk to the swimmers.
Nicknamed after “Thopedo or Thorpey”, the former Australian
swimmer, who is regarded as one of the greatest freestyler of all
time, Ian James Thorpe was born in October, 1982.
He has won five Olympic gold medals, the most won by any
Australian and, in 2001, become the only person to have won six
gold medals in one World championships.
In total, Thorpe has won 11 World championship golds, the highest
number of any one swimmer.
He is the only person to have been named World Swimmer of the Year
four times by Swimming World Magazine, and was the Australian
Swimmer of the Year from 1999 to 2003.
His achievements made him Australia’s most popular athlete, with
his philanthropy and clean image earning him further recognition
as the Young Australian of the Year in 2000.
At the age of 14, he become the youngest male every to represent
Australia, and his victory in the 400m freestyle, a few months
later at the 1998 Perth World Championship made him the youngest
ever individual male World champion.
After that victory, Thorpe dominated the 400m freestyle, winning
the event at every Olympic, World, Commonwealth and Pan Pacific
Swimming championship until his break after the 2004 Olympics.
Aside from 13 individual long course world record, Thorpe anchored
the Australia relay teams, numbering the victories in the 4x100
and the 4x200m freestyle relays in Sydney, among his five relay
world records.
His win in the 200m and 400m and his bronze in the 100m freestyle
in Athens have made him the only person to have won medals in the
100m, 200m, 400m combination.
After the Athens Olympics, Thorpe took a year away from swimming,
scheduling a return for 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.
However, he was forced to withdraw due to a bout of glandular
fever, subsequently training camps in the United States were
interrupted, and he announced his retirement from competition last
Nov 21, at the age of 24, citing waning motivation.
 
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