Ian Thorpe proudly declares he is gay in frank interview with Sir Michael Parkinson

BRAVE Ian Thorpe has told of his relief at being able to at last reveal he is gay, saying he held off revealing his sexual preference for fear of the consequences.

BRAVE Ian Thorpe has told of his relief at being able to at last reveal he is gay.

The Olympic swimming legend opened up about his sexuality during an inspirational interview with Michael Parkinson.

After more than a decade of denials, Thorpe, 31, told the veteran British TV interviewer that he had only fully accepted that he was gay in recent weeks.

“I’m comfortable saying I’m a gay man,” Thorpe said.

“And I don’t want young people to feel the same way that I did. You can grow up, you can be comfortable, and you can be gay.”

Thorpe opened up about a range of topics during the wide-ranging interview.

Thorpe held off revealing his sexual preference for fear of the consequences.

“I was concerned about the reaction from my family, my friends and I’m pleased to say that in telling them, especially my parents, they told me that they love me, and they support me. And for young people out there, know that that’s usually what the answer is.”

Thorpe said being asked about his sexual preferences at such a young age — 16 — before he was ready to admit it to himself or to others was inappropriate and had trapped him into living a lie for so many years.

As recently as 2012, in his autobiography, This is Me, Thorpe dismissed rumours he was gay, writing: “For the record, I am not gay and all my sexual experiences have been straight. I’m attracted to women, I love children and aspire to have a family one day.”

Ian Thorpe in his brave interview with Sir Michael Parkinson.

Thorpe said he felt he had no choice but to continue his denials for fear of being thought a liar.

“But what happened was I felt the lie had become so big that I didn’t want people to question my integrity. And, a little bit of ego comes into this. I didn’t want people to question that, have I lied about everything?” he said.

“I know that people don’t care about this and I’ve made it a bigger deal than it needed to be and if I answered this simply earlier it would have been a lot easier in my life. People will criticise me, some people won’t like the idea, other people may applaud me for it. But it’s me.”

Thorpe said he had made the decision to come out to help young people struggling with their own sexual identities. “I am a little bit ashamed that I did not come out earlier — that I did not have the strength, that I did not have the courage to break that lie. But everyone goes on their own path to do this, but I just don’t want that struggle to be so hard for other people.”

Thorpe with his gold medal after winning the 200m at Athens in 2004.

He said he wants to find love and have a family one day and that being honest about his sexuality had brought him one step closer to that.

He said he had been wrongly linked to men in the past, but that he had denied himself finding a partner for fear of being outed.

“I recognised attractive men but I would never consider hooking up with them because I was scared of people finding out,” he said.

Thorpe also detailed his lifelong battle with depression — a disease which led him to alcoholism and landed him in hospital for treatment earlier this year. He said at his lowest points he thought seriously about suicide.

Thorpe, who has won five gold medals — more than any Australian — also revealed his shoulder injury had left him unable to lift his arm above his head — ending chances of ever swimming competitively.

Thorpe expressed an interest in coaching children and advising elite swimmers.

His coming out has been met with widespread support with Fred Nile to Ricky Martin tweeting positive reactions to his revelation before his tell-all aired on Channel 10.

Thorpe said he wanted to continue his career in television.

“I’m sure it must have been incredibly hard for @IanThorpe to come out, but I hope this brings him peace and that everyone respects his choice,” fellow Olympian Stephanie Rice tweeted.

“Congrats @IanThorpe! Brave Man! Happy for you. Millions appreciate what you’ve done! Proud of You! #self-love,” added Ricky Martin. Christian Democratic Party Leader Nile tweeted: “You’re a champion, that is all that matters.”