Ian Thorpe, the Australian Olympic
swimmer nicknamed the Thorpedo and Thorpey, continues to evade
answering whether he's gay.
The 29-year-old Thorpe has won five
Olympic gold medals, the most won by any Australian. He was also the
most successful athlete to compete at the 2000 Summer Olympics.
In a profile in Sunday's London
Telegraph, Thorpe left the question open.
“I tick all the boxes,” he said.
“There is no way I can answer this. It really has just got to the
state when I say, 'whatever.' It's not a big deal for me. It
doesn't impact my life what people think.”
“What I don't like about it is that
people think I'm being dishonest. That's what's so hurtful in all of
this. I don't live my life as an open book, but what I do say, I
don't retract. That is me,” he
said.
At various times Thorpe has denied
rumors that he is gay.
In the documentary Ian Thorpe: The
Swimmer, he simply answered, “Women,” when asked about his
sexual orientation.
He added: “Being asked about [being
gay] gets annoying,” Thorpe
said. “I think people feel threatened by me because they can't
define exactly what I am.”