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Australia’s five-time Olympic gold medallist Ian Thorpe has spent much of his life battling depression, and even considered suicide, excerpts from a new book by the swimmer revealed.
The swimmer also uses the book to address persistent rumours about his sexuality, saying: “For the record, I am not gay”, adding that he would one day like to have a family.
The soon-to-be-released book This is Me: The Autobiography describes the athlete’s struggle with what he describes as “crippling” depression, which led him at times to drink large quantities of alcohol.
“I even considered specific places or a specific way to kill myself — but then always baulked, realising how ridiculous it was. Could I have killed myself?” the 30-year-old wrote in an excerpt in the Sydney Morning Herald .
“Looking back, I don’t think so but there were days in my life that even now make me shudder.”
Known as the ‘Thorpedo’, the Olympic great retired in 2006 after a glittering career in which he ruled the pool from 1998 to 2004, taking nine Olympic medals and 11 world titles and setting 13 long course world records.
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