Ian Thorpe false start controversy
Encyclopedia
In late March 2004
, at the Australian Championships in Sydney, Ian Thorpe
lined up in the heats of the 400 m freestyle, but overbalanced whilst on the blocks and fell into the water, resulting in his disqualification.
An attempted appeal, asserting that a noise had caused him to make the mistake, was dismissed, ending his chance to defend the 400 m Olympic title. This prompted widespread debate, with former swimmer Shane Gould
asserting that the selection policy should be relaxed to maximise Australia's chances by selecting Thorpe, whilst Talbot, head coach Leigh Nugent
and Kieren Perkins
defended the selection policy. Public debate was also widespread, with Prime Minister of Australia
John Howard
describing the situation as a "tragedy".
Despite the intense media spotlight, Thorpe managed to win the 100 m and 200 m freestyle events in times of 48.83s and 1 min 45.07s respectively to ensure his selection for Athens. Craig Stevens
, who had claimed the second qualifying position in the 400 m event, subsequently faced immense public pressure to relinquish his position to Thorpe, with The Australian's
front-page headline reading "Only one man can come to the rescue". Although Thorpe said that Stevens should not be pressured into stepping aside, he was also criticised by columnists who felt that he was inherently pressuring Stevens, for not unequivocally ruling himself out. Stevens later relinquished the position, in an interview with the Seven Network
, who paid him A$130,000 for the rights to broadcast his announcement. This generated ethical debate as to whether Stevens had made a decision in the national interest or sold Thorpe a gold medal, with The Sydney Morning Herald
s headline reading "It's your race, Ian, at $325 a metre".
Thorpe accepted the position and was further attacked by Perkins, who described the affair as "grubby" and "a very, very sad tale for Australian sport", saying the pressure put upon Stevens was "disgusting".
2004 in sports
2004 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.-American football:* College football Bowl Championship Series :**January 1 – Rose Bowl – USC 28, Michigan 14...
, at the Australian Championships in Sydney, Ian Thorpe
Ian Thorpe
Ian James Thorpe OAM , nicknamed the Thorpedo and Thorpey, is an Australian swimmer who specialises in freestyle, but also competes in backstroke and the individual medley. He has won five Olympic gold medals, the most won by any Australian, and with three gold and two silver medals, was the most...
lined up in the heats of the 400 m freestyle, but overbalanced whilst on the blocks and fell into the water, resulting in his disqualification.
An attempted appeal, asserting that a noise had caused him to make the mistake, was dismissed, ending his chance to defend the 400 m Olympic title. This prompted widespread debate, with former swimmer Shane Gould
Shane Gould
Shane Elizabeth Gould, MBE is an Australian former swimmer who won three gold medals, a silver and bronze in 1972 Summer Olympics. It was the greatest performance by an Australian at a single Olympics.-Biography:...
asserting that the selection policy should be relaxed to maximise Australia's chances by selecting Thorpe, whilst Talbot, head coach Leigh Nugent
Leigh Nugent
Leigh Nugent is an Australian swimming coach. He was the head coach of the Australian swimming team at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. Under his leadership, Australia tallied seven gold, five silver and three bronze, its best ever haul at an Olympics outside of Australia, and second only to the...
and Kieren Perkins
Kieren Perkins
Kieren John Perkins OAM , is a former Australian professional swimmer. One of the world's best-ever long-distance swimmers, he won two Olympic gold medals in 1992 and 1996 in the 1500-metre freestyle, and a silver medal in 2000....
defended the selection policy. Public debate was also widespread, with Prime Minister of Australia
Prime Minister of Australia
The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
John Howard
John Howard
John Winston Howard AC, SSI, was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia, from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He was the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies....
describing the situation as a "tragedy".
Despite the intense media spotlight, Thorpe managed to win the 100 m and 200 m freestyle events in times of 48.83s and 1 min 45.07s respectively to ensure his selection for Athens. Craig Stevens
Craig Stevens (swimmer)
Craig Stevens is an Australian freestyle swimmer specialising in the 400 m. 800 m and 1500 m freestyle events....
, who had claimed the second qualifying position in the 400 m event, subsequently faced immense public pressure to relinquish his position to Thorpe, with The Australian's
The Australian
The Australian is a broadsheet newspaper published in Australia from Monday to Saturday each week since 14 July 1964. The editor in chief is Chris Mitchell, the editor is Clive Mathieson and the 'editor-at-large' is Paul Kelly....
front-page headline reading "Only one man can come to the rescue". Although Thorpe said that Stevens should not be pressured into stepping aside, he was also criticised by columnists who felt that he was inherently pressuring Stevens, for not unequivocally ruling himself out. Stevens later relinquished the position, in an interview with the Seven Network
Seven Network
The Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...
, who paid him A$130,000 for the rights to broadcast his announcement. This generated ethical debate as to whether Stevens had made a decision in the national interest or sold Thorpe a gold medal, with The Sydney Morning Herald
The Sydney Morning Herald
The Sydney Morning Herald is a daily broadsheet newspaper published by Fairfax Media in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1831 as the Sydney Herald, the SMH is the oldest continuously published newspaper in Australia. The newspaper is published six days a week. The newspaper's Sunday counterpart, The...
s headline reading "It's your race, Ian, at $325 a metre".
Thorpe accepted the position and was further attacked by Perkins, who described the affair as "grubby" and "a very, very sad tale for Australian sport", saying the pressure put upon Stevens was "disgusting".