Olympic great Ian Thorpe reveals he can no longer swim after shoulder replacement surgery

Olympic great Ian Thorpe has revealed he can no longer swim, having lost his famous freestyle stroke after shoulder replacement surgery.

The five-time Olympic gold medallist, 34, said he had come to terms with what his body was now able to do following the surgery two years ago.

“When I first retired all those years ago I did not want anything to do with it (swimming), I did not want to go near a pool,” Thorpe, the Specsavers eye health ambassador said.

“When I retired for the second time I wanted to keep swimming, but I had a shoulder replacement. I had lots of complications with my shoulder and it is a pretty serious operation, not a reconstruction, a replacement, so I can’t swim.

“I had more than two years of shoulder problems and then I got an infection in hospital, so they had to remove the reconstruction they did.

“Then I was on antibiotics for 12 months with a completely fractured shoulder before they could operate on it, so I was happy that I got the shoulder that I have and that I can do as much as I can with it.

“I was told by the doctor before the surgery I would never be able to swim again. I can swim enough to be able to catch a wave, but the stroke it allows me to do is quite horrible and it kind of crunches over, so it is not like I can get into a pool and do some laps.”

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