Ian Thorpe is one of the greatest swimmers of all time. Predominantly a freestyler, he won five Olympic gold medals, the most won by any Australian. He was the highest achieving athlete at the 2000 games in Sydney with 3 golds and 2 silvers.

AT the 2001 World Aquatics Championships he became the first person to win six gold medals in one meet. In total he has won eleven World Golds, the second highest of any swimmer. Three years later at the Athens Olympics he won the 200m and 400m freestyle titles.

He attracted a legion of viewers for his gentle admonishments and thoughtful insights as a swimming pundit for the BBC during the 2012 London Olympics and Australia’s Channel 10 at this years Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. One reporter label him the “philosopher King of the BBC sofa”. He refused to give pat answers and has a dry wit. When a fellow commentator said, “unlucky lane five”, he deadpanned, “there is water in every lane, so it is ok”.

Ian retired in 2006, but returned to swimming with the aim of making the Australian team for the London Olympics. He competed at the Olympic trials but missed out. A shoulder injury scuttled plans to target qualification for the World Champs in Barcelona and this year’s Glasgow Games. He did however make it to Scotland in his commentary capacity and signed my sketch.