Sydney Mardi Gras: Ian Thorpe sought as crowning jewel in Olympic-themed parade float

THE race is on to make swimming champion Ian Thorpe the star of the first Australian Olympic Committee-endorsed float in next month’s Mardi Gras.

Ian Thorpe Portrait Session

THE race is on to make swimming champion Ian Thorpe the star of the first Australian Olympic Committee-endorsed float in next month’s Mardi Gras.

Fifty Olympians and Paralympians, homosexual and heterosexual, including gold medallists such as weightlifter Dean Lukin and members of the Mean Machine relay team, have confirmed they will march with the float, which is set to have a Rio theme and include a model of the famed Christ the ­Redeemer statue.

It is the brainchild of swimming Olympic medallist Daniel Kowalski.

Australian swimmer Ian Thorpe.

“It’s obvious who I’d like to be there (Ian Thorpe and Matthew Mitcham),” Kowalski said.

“But I don’t want to put Ian on the spot. It’s not something you can rush into.

“When I went on the (anti-homophobia in sport) float last year, I invited him, and he said: ‘Listen, for something so public, with thousands of people, I just need to be ready to do that.’ I ­totally get that.”

Kowalski applauded the AOC for its immediate support when he approached them with the idea last October.

“I really didn’t have to say anything, they were like, ‘yes, what do you need from us?’ ” Kowalski said.

A parade scene from the 2015 Mardi Gras parade. Picture: Jeremy Piper

“It will mean a lot to the members of the LGBT community to see these Olympians marching. It will show young girls, boys, men and women, that these athletes accept diversity and inclusiveness.

“Hopefully it (the Olympic float) gives them a bit of strength to say: ‘Yes, I can be accepted. My sexuality isn’t a barrier not only in achieving in sport but anything they want to do’.”

Olympic diver and gay advocate Mitcham said he will take part if his other Mardi Gras obligations allow him to.

Mitcham, who was the first openly gay athlete to go to an Olympics in 2008, said the AOC endorsed float is a big moment for the Australian public.

“It’s really forward-thinking, it’s really open-minded, it’s so the right thing to do,” Mitcham said.

Mitcham said Thorpe, who came out last year, would be a great addition but understands he has a reserved personality.

“It would be really good if he did,” he said. “We all know how shy and private he is.

“The last we heard of him in the media was he was having trouble adjusting to an ‘out’ lifestyle. It would be really great for him, but for someone as shy as he is, Mardi Gras is a pretty full-on event.”

Thorpe has given no indication if he will or won’t appear at the event. His manager James Erskine said he had “no idea” if the Olympic champ would be taking part.