‘Feels like yesterday’: Ian Thorpe reflects 20 years on from his incredible Olympic wins
Swimming champion Ian Thorpe has reflected on the 20th anniversary of his momentous gold medal wins at the Sydney Olympics and the pressure he was under as a high-achieving teenager.
Ray Hadley, who called the Games, said Thorpe was very much under pressure as a 17-year-old going into the Olympics, on 16 September in 2000.
He said Thorpe was an incredible young man, a legendary figure of Australian sport.
“You have brought us some wonderful, wonderful memories, mate.”
But Thorpe said he had doubts in his mind leading into the Games.
“It feels like yesterday,” he said.
“I can still relate and feel it [the pressure]. People made the assumption I would win without acknowledging the things that could go wrong.
“There’s an expectation of the nation as well.”
He said he didn’t know for sure that he had won in the men’s final relay.
“My team mates were jumping up and down, and the crowd is cheering, and I still have to look around to see the scoreboard to see we have finished first.”
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