Why Ian Thorpe ‘felt like such an idiot’

Olympic legend Ian Thorpe opens up about the personal struggles that have led him to accomplish great things, and explains the genesis of his surprise love of cooking.

He is an Australian icon, the beloved Olympian with one of the greatest swimming records in our history. So it is no surprise to learn that whenever Ian Thorpe takes something on, he has one mantra in mind: I need to win.

It’s the philosophy he brought to the pool at the Sydney Olympics, and 21 years later he’s still drawing on that quest for excellence, whether it’s commentating at the recent Tokyo Games or showcasing his skills at the pass as he tries out reality TV for the first time with an upcoming stint on Celebrity MasterChef Australia.

There may not be any gold medals on offer as reward for his latest pursuit, but he still believes any success will be predicated on being as prepared as he always was in the water.

“I went into it saying, ‘If I’m going to do this, it’s something that I want to win,’” Thorpe tells Stellar.

“I made sure everything I did was with that kind of diligence that would set me up to be able to win this competition.”

“I went into it saying, ‘If I’m going to do this, it’s something that I want to win,’” (Picture: Daniel Nadel)

He took the same approach to commentating at the Tokyo Olympics, earning praise for his insights into not just the swimmers’ technical abilities but also their mindsets.

“It’s similar to preparing for a swimming race,” Thorpe says.

“It’s all the work you do beforehand that makes it look easier when it comes to what would be race day. Each day I spend hours refining what I’m doing. I still get anxious for the athletes; I’m sitting in my chair, squirming and trying to correct people’s stroke.”

I like that I get caught up in their performance because it means I’m enjoying it, and it’s why I refuse to have a camera in the commentary box. I’d like to do more of it. I really love live TV. I like that excitement.”

It has been more than two decades since Thorpe, who turns 39 on Wednesday, dominated the Sydney Olympics, and while he remains one of our most exalted sportsmen – with five Olympic gold medals and having been made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for his contribution to society – the years since have brought challenges as the spotlight focused on his sexuality and mental-health issues.

He does not discuss his current partner, but he’s encouraged by deeper societal acceptance.

“As an athlete, people are not just hoping for you to win, they’re expecting you to

win,” he says.

“They want the gold medal. You don’t want to add another layer of complexity to that, or that’s how I always felt. I still wasn’t comfortable with my own sexuality at that time, and I was also dealing with my own mental health and the pressure I was under.”

Thorpe says he is writing a piece of fiction on the subject, pointing out that at the time of the 2004 Olympics, support for marriage equality was only a fraction of the 61.6 per cent of “yes” votes recorded in 2017 that led to the law change that allows same-sex unions.

He notes that not only are more athletes coming out, more are also willing to speak out in defence and protection of maintaining their mental health.

“As an athlete, people are not just hoping for you to win, they’re expecting you to win,” (Picture: Supplied)

He says he appreciated tennis player Naomi Osaka’s openness in her statement disclosing she was struggling.

“I applaud her for showing people that mental-health issues can impact anyone. It doesn’t matter how successful you see that person as being. Remember, athletes put higher expectations on themselves than anyone else. We may be able to create these superhero-like efforts in performances –but we are humans at the end of it.”

As part of his portfolio career – which includes being executive producer on the new film Streamline, mentoring athletes and supporting mental health, Indigenous education and sustainability projects – Thorpe also works on athlete wellbeing for the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS).

“Strangely enough, a swimming career actually set me up to be able to do some of the most extraordinary things that people only dream of: to be able to travel how I do, to meet the people I meet and have the opportunity to make some lasting change.”

It’s a life he would never have thought possible 21 years ago, and on reflection today, he says, “I’m happy with what [my life] looks like. I’m someone who needs to be doing multiple projects. I’m always at my best when I’m as busy as I can possibly be.”

For his latest pivot, Thorpe has gone back to the kitchen, where he has long enjoyed cooking for friends and even learnt the tools that put him in good stead to publish a cookbook in 2011.

“I focus on making it look good. No-one knows what it tastes like!” (Picture: Supplied)

He says it was his niece and nephew who encouraged him to join MasterChef and reveals he has been a keen cook since childhood, when he used to pretend he was sick so he could stay home from school and bake cakes with his grandparents. When he was nine he asked if he could prepare the family meal, choosing a meat and pasta dish from one of his mum’s cookbooks.

Post-swimming Thorpe released that cookbook, Cook For Your Life, and says one of his favourite things to do is to spend a weekend away preparing food for friends and loved ones – he finds chopping vegetables therapeutic, for instance.

So while it may be surprising to hear he wanted to take part in this new televised venture, it is not exactly out of his comfort zone. Still, there is one basic skill he failed to master: he couldn’t separate an egg.

“I’d never done it before without an egg separator!” he tells Stellar, laughing at his ineptitude.

“I asked Jock [Zonfrillo, one of the judges] where the egg separator was and he goes, ‘Mate, you’ve got two hands.’ I tried it and it’s the easiest method ever. I felt like such an idiot.”

You’d think a bit of culinary rivalry would be a doddle for a high-performance athlete used to competing on the world stage, but Thorpe reveals he had trouble maintaining his cool in the MasterChef kitchen. Aside from his anxiety with eggs, he says the cameras also caught him with his hands shaking nervously as he was cutting up a tomato.

Wait. He was nervous about slicing a tomato? “It wasn’t that,” he says, laughing again.

“It was more that I had multiple things going on at that time. It was all of those things and all the pressure. It is hot in the kitchen and I swear production turn up the heating to make everyone sweat.”

Ian Thorpe features in this Sunday’s Stellar.

As he looks ahead to his 40th birthday next year – he says he’s already booked a celebratory trip – Thorpe laughs that he is still as competitive as ever, as evidenced by the WhatsApp competition that continues with his fellow MasterChef contestants.

They send each other pictures of their cooking exploits and Thorpe, who lives with two flatmates, believes he’s the frontrunner when it comes to presentation. As he says: “I focus on making it look good. No-one knows what it tastes like!”

Celebrity MasterChef Australia premieres tonight at 7.30pm on Network 10.