SYDNEY – Five-time Olympic gold medalist Ian Thorpe said Friday he has no regrets over his failed bid to swim at the London Olympics.
Thorpe, 29, launched a comeback in February last year after retiring in November 2006 citing a lack of motivation.
But he missed out on a place on the Australian swimming team after failing to qualify in the 100- and 200-meter freestyle events at the Olympic trials in Adelaide in March.
Thorpe said he was unprepared for the shock of missing out on the London Games.
“I was in such a haze not realizing what had just happened in missing out on the Olympics,” Thorpe told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
“I was asked the question: ‘How does it feel that you are not going to the Olympics?’ The reaction was: ‘Thanks, I hadn’t thought about it.’
“You see it hit me, that it’s like I didn’t plan for this.”