have we seen the last of the thorpedo?

Ian Thorpe is sensationally expected to announce his retirement at a press conference due to take place in Australia on Tuesday. The 24 year old Australian, who has barely been seen competing since the Athens Olympics after a bout of illnesses and injuries, has reputedly lost his appetite for the training needed to race at the level he desires.
While initially it was anticipated that the press conference would merely announce that he would skip next year’s world championships in Melbourne, speculation has been rife that it is more significant than that. One official from Swimming Australia said “That’s all a smokescreen. It will be a huge announcement” while Thorpe’s own website left only the cryptic message “Thank you for visiting Ian’s website. This website has been temporarily closed. However there will be some exciting news shortly.”
If Thorpe does call it a day it will be a huge blow for the sport, not least for Australia, whose men’s team has struggled in his absence. Australian head coach Alan Thompson remains optimistic however, believing Thorpe could still swim in Beijing even if he missed Melbroune. “In normal circumstances you would certainly see the Worlds as a major stepping stone on the way to the Olympic Games” he said, “but for somebody of the ability of Ian I’m sure that he would be more than capable of making it through to the Olympic Games without this meet.”
Meanwhile, adding an element of the absurd to the whole situation, Thorpe was visited by anti doping officers last night for an out of competition test. It might yet be his last contribution as an athlete.