Talk:Ian Thorpe

Semi-protected edit request on 4 February 2015
Please remove: "No longer allowed to wear the full-body racing suit (covering from neck to ankles and wrists) with which he set all of his world records – but are now banned by FINA rule changes – he competed wearing just the "jammer" (hip to thigh) racing shorts." because Thorpe swam in briefs at the 1999 Pan Pacific Championships and broke records in the 200 and 400m freestyle events. The footage of him breaking the 400m world record in his briefs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jnz08P6sQEQ Footage of him swimming at the event, again in his briefs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcXx6deiLA8

Also, here is a copy of the September 1999 issue of SwimNews magazine: https://archive.org/details/swimnewsn252/mode/2up

This issue covers the 1999 Pan Pacific swimming championships, where Ian Thorpe set his first 3 world records. He is pictured on the cover, as well as inside the magazine on page 13 wearing a traditional swim brief.

78.2.203.141 (talk) 17:15, 4 February 2015 (UTC)
 * Please change: "No longer allowed to wear the full-body racing suit (covering from neck to ankles and wrists) with which he set all of his world records – but are now banned by FINA rule changes – he competed wearing just the "jammer" (hip to thigh) racing shorts." to what because ...? Also, going to need a Reliable source for this change... —   20:02, 4 February 2015 (UTC)
 * Red information icon with gradient background.svg Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made. Ahh, you want that removed. That is much clearer, unfortunately, a reliable source (which youtube is not) is needed to make this change. Thank you. —   16:23, 10 February 2015 (UTC)
 * I had not realized that youtube wasn't considered a reliable source. For what it is worth, I remember watching that race on TV back in the day, so I do not believe that the video I linked to is doctored.  But of course I cannot prove that.
 * However, I think there is plenty of other evidence, some of it from the Thorpe wikipedia article itself. All I am really asking is for the article to be consistent with itself.
 * According to "1999 Pan Pacific Championships" section in the Ian Thorpe Wikipedia article, Thorpe signed his deal with Adidas *after* those championships. Also, according the Wikipedia article, he set 3 world records at those 1999 championships.
 * So, based on the information in this article, his first 3 WR happened before the Adidas deal. Also, according to the article, the Australian team was sponsored by Speedo, so he wouldn't have been wearing an Adidas suit at that point.
 * There are many pictures at Getty Images from the 1999 Pan Pacific championships. They all show Thorpe wearing briefs.  Here are a some of them:
 * https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/ian-thorpe-of-australia-wins-the-400m-freestyle-in-a-new-news-photo/1024255?adppopup=true
 * https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/ian-thorpe-of-australia-at-the-start-of-a-race-during-the-news-photo/1010523?adppopup=true
 * https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/ian-thorpe-of-australia-in-action-during-the-1999-news-photo/1010512?adppopup=true
 * https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/ian-thorpe-of-australia-celebrates-after-winning-another-news-photo/1010567?adppopup=true
 * https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/ian-thorpe-of-australia-in-action-during-the-mens-200m-news-photo/1010494?adppopup=true SwimFan2023 (talk) 17:48, 15 April 2023 (UTC)
 * Images at Getty Images are WP:PRIMARY sources. You need to find reliable secondary source that reported that Thorpe was wearing briefs on that championship. USS Col a! rado🇺🇸 (C⭐T) 09:10, 24 April 2023 (UTC)
 * Requested edit ✅ This is not a request to add information but to remove unsourced material. The burden to procure reliable sources lies upon those editors seeking to retain it. —Compassionate727 (T·C) 14:59, 25 April 2023 (UTC)

Bullied TV show
Please add the following to the article, possibly in a post-swimming career section:

Ian Thorpe will lead a two-part television documentary called Bullied on ABC Television, using hidden-camera footage to give a victim's-eye-view of bullying to begin airing 14 March 2017.

Thank you. --122.108.141.214 (talk) 06:19, 10 March 2017 (UTC)


 * Yes check.svg Done, with very minor copyediting changes, under the new section heading you proposed. I'm not sure it quite belongs in its own section, but I couldn't find anywhere else to stick it. Anyway, thanks for your request!

Postal survey activism
Please add the following to the activism section:

In the lead up to the Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey, Thorpe campaigned for a 'yes' vote, encouraging people to enrol to vote at the City2Surf, and later appearing in an ad with his partner saying that Thorpe could update his electoral details faster than his partner could swim 100 metres.

Thank you. --122.108.141.214 (talk) 02:13, 29 August 2017 (UTC)
 * Could you please specify which section? Sparkling Pessimist   Scream at me!  03:20, 29 August 2017 (UTC)
 * Yes check.svg Done Eggishorn (talk) (contrib) 03:36, 29 August 2017 (UTC)


 * Thanks! --122.108.141.214 (talk) 04:44, 29 August 2017 (UTC)

Commonwealth Games 1998
Ian actually swam 4 individual events at the 1998 Commonwealth games He got 4th in the 200m Fly in 2:00.28. It's missed out in the current article and says he only entered 3 individual events (100, 200 and 400 free) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 85.218.149.112 (talk) 08:40, 14 July 2018 (UTC)

False Bodysuit Claim
There is a claim under Thorpe’s Comeback section that is false, and has no source.

It claims that Thorpe set all of his world record in a body suit that later was banned by FINA. It’s well known that Thorpe set world records in 1999 at the Pan Pacific Championships with a brief suit, in the 200 and 400 meter freestyle events. Request to remove this claim. Gman2820 (talk) 04:12, 14 February 2021 (UTC)

Error
The article says of Thorpe’s performance at Athens Olympics: “making him the only person to medal in the 100–200–400 combination in Olympic history.[4]”. It should say the only male swimmer, since Shane Gould medaled in 100-200-400-800 in 1972 Munich Olympics

Semi-protected edit request on 2 August 2021
Wikipedia states that ‘He has won five Olympic gold medals, the most won by any Australian along with fellow swimmer Emma McKeon.’ Emma McKeon has won 11 Olympic medals so Ian Thorpe has not won the most along with Emma McKeon. She has won more. He has won the most for a male athlete. Please edit. Thanks! 203.87.98.210 (talk) 00:01, 3 August 2021 (UTC)
 * Red information icon with gradient background.svg Not done: They both have 5 gold medals. Emma also has some other olympic medals other than gold.  RudolfRed (talk) 19:28, 4 August 2021 (UTC)

WP:URFA/2020 review
Hi talk page watchers: I am reviewing this article as part of WP:URFA/2020, an initiative to review articles promoted to featured article status before 2016 and improve them so they meet FA standards. I have some concerns which I outline below:


 * The article seems to be missing post-2014 information. For his career, there's only a sentence talking about his involvement in a bullying documentary. What else did he do to earn money after his retirement from swimming?
 * "In September 2020, the International Olympic Committee published a question and answer format interview with Thorpe, which touched on his sexual orientation and some of the challenges he faced due to his homosexuality in competitive swimming." Does this source provide any information about Thorpe that can be added to this article? If not, this sentence can be deleted as a former athlete giving an interview is not notable.
 * The "Philantrophy" section ends in 2014. Is there any other information to add?
 * The "Personal life" section has many short sub-sections (eg: Depression, Activism, Philanthropy). Can this section be organised differently to avoid WP:OVERSECTION?

Is anyone willing to work on this article? Z1720 (talk) 22:00, 20 December 2021 (UTC)

A Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion
The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion: Participate in the deletion discussion at the. —Community Tech bot (talk) 00:50, 23 February 2022 (UTC)
 * Flag of Australasian team for Olympic games.svg

Semi-protected edit request on 15 April 2023
In the "Comeback" section, this line:

"No longer allowed to wear the full-body racing suit (covering from neck to ankles and wrists) with which he set all of his world records - "

should be modified to say:

"No longer allowed to wear the full-body racing suit (covering from neck to ankles and wrists) with which he set many of his world records - "

In other words, change the word "all" to the word "many".

Here is why it should be changed. The original sentence is factually incorrect. Thorpe set the world record in the 400m in 1999 wearing a brief. You can see it on the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jnz08P6sQEQ

At that same meet (also wearing a brief) he broke the 200m world record as well, and was also on the WR 800 relay wearing a brief. So, that is at least 3 WR he set without the body suit.

Also, arguably the phrase about his suit should be removed altogether, because it implies that he failed in his comeback because he wasn't allowed to wear the full-body suit anymore. Unfortunately, lot of uniformed people think Thorpe was only fast because of that suit. That isn't true. For his first WR, he went 3:41 in the 400m freestyle as a 16-year-old in a brief. That time would have won the Olympic final in 2021. SwimFan2023 (talk) 17:03, 15 April 2023 (UTC)
 * Red information icon with gradient background.svg Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made. While I'm sure your description here is correct, I think we'll need at least a reliable source noting that some of his world records were set while not wearing the full-body suit. However, I have tagged this line with "citation needed" template in the interim. Once you respond with reliable sources here, change the "answered" parameter of this request back to "no" to reopen it. --Pinchme123 (talk) 03:32, 17 April 2023 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 13 November 2023
Within the swimmer's medal list change the name of the relay medals by writing freestyle instead of free, that looks more informal. 153.19.209.132 (talk) 19:33, 13 November 2023 (UTC)
 * Pictogram voting question.svg Question: can you please link to the section you're referring to? M.Bitton (talk) 23:43, 13 November 2023 (UTC)
 * Found it – it's in the infobox at the very bottom, in the hidden "Medal record" box. I can't seem to figure out if there's some reason for the current phrasing – it looks as if it has been done for all and only the relay medals (maybe to prevent line wrapping?). Tollens (talk) 08:08, 15 November 2023 (UTC)
 * thanks. It sure looks like it's been done to prevent line wrapping. M.Bitton (talk) 21:49, 15 November 2023 (UTC)
 * Red information icon with gradient background.svg Not done: As what appears to me to be a purely stylistic change, I don't believe that increasing the length of the already very long box by causing all of the affected medals to extend from one line to two is worth the improvement. Tollens (talk) 07:34, 18 November 2023 (UTC)