Ian Thorpe is one of the world's greatest-ever swimmers, and one of Australia's most successful athletes, having won five Olympic gold medals, 11 World Championship golds and set 13 world records in a career that began in 1998, when he became the youngest-ever world champion, aged 14.
Thorpe is also gay, and recently admitted struggling for years with depression and alcoholism, in part as a result of his efforts to come to terms with his sexual identity while maintaining a high profile in the macho world of professional sports.
In the interview, broadcast on Australia's Channel 10, Thorpe said: "I'm comfortable saying I'm a gay man. And I don't want people to feel the same way I did. You can grow up, you can be comfortable and you can be gay."
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