During Mardi Gras earlier this month, the Daily Telegraph pulled a classic Daily Telegraph move, publishing a front-page paparazzi shot of Ian Thorpe apparently rejecting a “white, pill-like object” from a mate, and turning his head away.
The implication – that Australia’s former golden boy is leading some sort of scandalous party lifestyle – was pretty clear, and the piece was just the latest in a series of tabloid beat-ups about Thorpe, who can’t seem to catch a goddamn break with our nation’s media.
The whole episode left the swimmer’s team fuming. Manager James Erskine later insisted that the object in question was a breath mint, and slammed reporter Sally Rawsthorne, who hounded him with calls and texts in the lead-up to the publication.
In a recent interview with The Australian, Thorpe himself broke his silence about the photo and the circumstances leading up to it, and despaired at the Tele’s lack of chill, saying:
“I don’t know what it was. I’ve thought ‘It looks terrible if someone is putting something into my mouth’, that’s when I turned my head, but unfortunately it was something that was front-page news and, you know, I just think it was ridiculous, really.”
In the same interview, Thorpe said that he believes he will never swim again, thanks to his ongoing battle with a shoulder injury, which saw him go into surgery last year.
“I have taken about five strokes, but I can’t lift my arm out of the water. Maybe in another 12 months I’ll be able to do something because it’s already far better than the surgeon expected. But he still thinks I won’t be able to do it.”
Source: The Australian.
Photo: Quinn Rooney / Getty / Daily Telegraph.
