Ian Thorpe reveals the impact of his coming out 10 years ago

Ian Thorpe admits that he came out ‘quite late’ in life and a decade after that significant moment the Olympic legend reveals the impact of that decision.

It’s been 10 years since Ian Thorpe came out as gay. A hugely pivotal time in his life, and one he’s grateful for – because today, a decade later, he’s happier and more comfortable with himself than he ever has been.

The 41-year-old concedes he came out ‘quite late’ in life – but for the notoriously private athlete, it was the only timing he could manage. And the peace he’s found since will always be reward for the significant anniversary.

“For me, there’s a thing around any person – and I’m not just speaking about myself, but around their sexual identity – and I came out what would be considered quite late in life, but it was the first time I was comfortable enough with myself that I could come out,” he tells Insider from his Sydney home.

“And reflecting back on it, and looking at, had I come out earlier – I heard one thing that sticks with me, is … the reason you come out isn’t about yourself.

It’s been 10 years since Ian Thorpe revealed to the world that he was gay. Picture Brendan Read

“It’s actually that you become an example that makes it easier for someone else that may be going through a difficult time in being able to come out.

“So I evaluate, I look at those things.

“But for myself, I have a complete sense of freedom around the authenticity of presenting myself as the person that I actually am.

“And I love that I have this in my life.

“I didn’t realise it was a decade, and I’ve worked damn hard to make sure that during that time, there are more people that are more comfortable with their own sexual identity – whether it’s been lobbying government, walking up the halls of Parliament, or just being there as a friend, privately to other people – that’s what I’ve done.

“And I’m glad that I am in a headspace and in a place where I can do that and have a level of influence that makes people’s lives easier.”

Ian Thorpe with Ashley Callus, Chris Fydler and Michael Klim after winning gold in the 4x100m freestyle relay at the Sydney Olympics.

Post Paris Olympics and the commentating roles he loves, he’s getting ‘back to normality’, although is excited to have the Paralympics to keep the spirit of sport going strong. Before that, he was jetsetting around the world competing in the celebrity edition of the Amazing Race with his best mate Christian Miranda – an experience he never got to have in his youth. Being the best swimmer in the world meant his passport was full, but all he got to see of other countries were hotel rooms and swimming pools.

“I may have travelled, and if you look at my passport, there may be plenty of stamps in it – but basically I see a hotel and a pool,” he says.

“I don’t get to experience a city.

“So this was entirely different, and I was seeing a city in a lens that I would never be able to do prior to this,” he explains of the Amazing Race opportunity.

Ian Thorpe and best mate Christian in The Amazing Race in Buenos Aires.

He was always a fan of the show – as a kid he would watch and cheer contestants on – and ever the athlete, he loved the challenge element of it. For him, taking part – with his best mate Christian no less – was a chance to take back part of his life he’d sacrificed for sport.

“For me, it’s an experience that I probably missed out on because of what I was doing in the pool at that time – of what happens when you’ve just finished school as a teenager or in your early 20s,” he admits.

“I was like, ‘let’s go on an adventure’ – and I wanted to spend time with Christian where we didn’t know where we’re going, what we’re doing, or anything else – I was up for that.

“I’m used to a schedule – that’s what the athlete mind is – I’d wake up at 4.17am in the morning when I was an athlete.

“That was the time that I could actually eat something, get ready, be at the pool at 4.45am to actually start training – I’m used to that schedule.

“So the part of the unknown was really appealing to me – and then actually saying, ‘how do I actually respond to these things?’

Ian Thorpe after winning the Race of the Century in the 200m freestyle at the Athens Olympics. Picture: (AAP Image/Dean Lewins, File

“I’ve basically been on a plane since I was a 12-year-old, travelling around the world, which is kind of weird – and it was a chance for me to experience something that I wouldn’t normally be able to do, so I was excited by the chance to do that.”

He and Christian have known each other since they were 10. They swam at the same club and were housemates at a time, so three decades of friendship means they know each other inside out. He says landing in Buenos Aires the pair were like ‘excited little kids’ – because Thorpe had been there before – but not like that.

“I don’t want to say we know what each other is thinking – we just actually know when to say something or not say something, whether it’s going to work or not,” he says.

“There’s an unspoken language that actually exists between friends where you know what is the right thing to do to get the best out of yourselves.”

“I am in my early 40s and it’s like, when else would I have a chance to do something like this with one of my best mates?

Ian Thorpe gliding through the water at the Athens Olympics.

“We were competing, but we actually liked everyone – that’s the odd thing that came out of all of this, is the way that we actually just got on with everyone.

“We wanted to win, but it wasn’t at a cost to what our values were.

“We wanted to do well because we were better, rather than trying to beat someone down –

that’s not us.”

“Communication is key,” he continues of the surviving the adventure – and life, now that you think of it.

“It’s a human quality, and it’s why we’ve survived, we’ve thrived, we’ve been successful – and on The Amazing Race, it’s actually getting that right – then to a finer point, is interpreting the communication in a way that makes sense for you,” he says.

“Because two people could read the same piece of information and think entirely differently about what it actually means, and it’s then working it out.

“So I gather as much information as possible and then actually form an opinion – Christian is a little bit more gung ho about things and jumps in, so the balance between the two of us is the important part.

Ian Thorpe with his gold medal in 2004.

“I’m overthinking everything, and Christian’s like, ‘no, let’s just get on with this’.”

So will we see a different side of Thorpie when the Amazing Race airs on 10 on Monday night?

“I actually don’t know,” he laughs.

“I know there’s a lot of things that are out there in the press, or what people have grown up with, and they’ve certainly seen a part of me, but I’m also someone that’s very private.

“I try and manage myself as best I can between what is a life that has moments that are very public and high profile – and then also the person that I am around friends, and what I’m like at home.

“And the two are dissimilar – it’s just I’ve realised, because from when I was in my mid teens, a lot of my life has been out there in the public, so there are certain things that I do protect around myself, just to do with me being able to get on with my day as normally as possible.

“And I think that’s a really healthy thing,

“I can sit comfortably at home, I can have fun with my friends, and maintaining a level of normality around what I do, rather than that kind of iconic Australian athlete – the person that grew up, that was successful at the home Olympics – all of those other things.

“That’s part of my identity, but it’s not all of it.”

Ian Thorpe and his best mate Christian during The Amazing Race.

“Of course, I am,” he says when asked whether he’s happier now than he was in a pool of gold medals.

“Of course I am.

“Remember, I was very young when those things were happening.

“I was a teenager, and if you remember being a teenager, it’s the most uncomfortable years of your life – just trying to work out how you actually fit in.

“For me, we are a couple of decades post that, and I’m as comfortable as I could be with myself.

“That’s where I’m at, and that only comes with time, it doesn’t come from anywhere else.

“I have a great awareness of the world, but also because of my career in sport, with that, there’s a responsibility that comes as well.

“So when I commentate, when I do things like that, I actually love that I’m passing on the mantle to another generation.

“For me, the one thing that I speak of and I believe in, is the test of a champion – it’s the person who actually was inspired by those that have come before them.

“They will inspire someone during their career.

“But it’s also the person that’s willing to pass this along to someone else, to be able to carry it.

“And you don’t give it up – you never give it up – but you’re willing to pass it on.

“And when we look at what’s just happened recently at the Olympics, I’ve actually seen this, and I loved every moment of that for every athlete, with my own experience in there, and knowing exactly how it feels for each of our successful athletes.”

The Amazing Race Australia, celebrity edition, premieres on 10 and 10 Play from Monday, September 9.