Rivals run scared
So dominant is he in those two events that Thorpe's main rivals are already running scared. His fellow Australian Michael Klim, who won the 200 crown at the 1998 world championships, finished second behind Thorpe but announced he would not compete in the 200 at the Olympics because he had no chance of beating him and wanted to concentrate on his other events.
Thorpe has been earmarked for greatness since 1996 when he won 10 titles at the national age-group championships, eight in record time. A year later, he became the youngest male to make an Australian senior team when he was picked for the 1997 Pan Pacific championships in Japan, where he won two silver medals.
In 1998, Thorpe became the youngest world champion in swimming history, winning the 400 final with a devastating late burst. That same year, he won four gold medals at the Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur and helped the 4 x 200 relay team break the world record.
He set his first individual world record in 400 at the 1998 Australian short-course championships. A month before the Olympics, his tally of individual world records stood at 10.
The key to Thorpe's success seems to lie in his rare combination of physical and mental gifts. For a 17-year-old, he is remarkably mature and, at almost 200 cm, is tall for his age. He also has unusually large feet, which he uses like flippers and powerful legs that propel him to the wall.
He rides high in the water and while most swimmers are starting to tire at the end of their races as the lactic acid levels build, Thorpe always has plenty in reserve.
His supports and rivals alike say he has revolutionised men's freestyle swimming, transforming the 400 metres freestyle from a middle-distance tactical race to an eight-lap sprint.
But his stunning rise has not been free of controversy, with some of his rivals questioning the validity of his performances. German team captain Chris Carol-Bremer, suggested Thorpe's large feet might have been the result of long-term doping. He claimed he had been misquoted and personally apologised to the Australian.
Determined to prove his detractors wrong, Thorpe dealt with their accusations as swiftly and clinically as he treats his opponents in the pool, offering to be the first athlete at the Sydney Games to undergo a blood test.
"I'm getting used to it. It's a tactic to try to distract me from what I am doing," Thorpe said.
"At this stage it is not working - I am just as determined to succeed. The more emphasis people try to put on me being on something is really the biggest compliment anyone can possibly give me."
(c) Reuters Limited. Click here for Restrictions
So dominant is he in those two events that Thorpe's main rivals are already running scared. His fellow Australian Michael Klim, who won the 200 crown at the 1998 world championships, finished second behind Thorpe but announced he would not compete in the 200 at the Olympics because he had no chance of beating him and wanted to concentrate on his other events.
Thorpe has been earmarked for greatness since 1996 when he won 10 titles at the national age-group championships, eight in record time. A year later, he became the youngest male to make an Australian senior team when he was picked for the 1997 Pan Pacific championships in Japan, where he won two silver medals.
In 1998, Thorpe became the youngest world champion in swimming history, winning the 400 final with a devastating late burst. That same year, he won four gold medals at the Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur and helped the 4 x 200 relay team break the world record.
He set his first individual world record in 400 at the 1998 Australian short-course championships. A month before the Olympics, his tally of individual world records stood at 10.
The key to Thorpe's success seems to lie in his rare combination of physical and mental gifts. For a 17-year-old, he is remarkably mature and, at almost 200 cm, is tall for his age. He also has unusually large feet, which he uses like flippers and powerful legs that propel him to the wall.
He rides high in the water and while most swimmers are starting to tire at the end of their races as the lactic acid levels build, Thorpe always has plenty in reserve.
His supports and rivals alike say he has revolutionised men's freestyle swimming, transforming the 400 metres freestyle from a middle-distance tactical race to an eight-lap sprint.
But his stunning rise has not been free of controversy, with some of his rivals questioning the validity of his performances. German team captain Chris Carol-Bremer, suggested Thorpe's large feet might have been the result of long-term doping. He claimed he had been misquoted and personally apologised to the Australian.
Determined to prove his detractors wrong, Thorpe dealt with their accusations as swiftly and clinically as he treats his opponents in the pool, offering to be the first athlete at the Sydney Games to undergo a blood test.
"I'm getting used to it. It's a tactic to try to distract me from what I am doing," Thorpe said.
"At this stage it is not working - I am just as determined to succeed. The more emphasis people try to put on me being on something is really the biggest compliment anyone can possibly give me."
(c) Reuters Limited. Click here for Restrictions
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