SYDNEY, Nov 21 - Ian Thorpe's decision to retire at the tender age of 24 was a bittersweet ending to the career of a swimmer who rose from a humble upbringing to become one of the world's most recognisable sportsmen.

Thorpe listens to a question during a media conference announcing his retirement in Sydney November 21, 2006. [Reuters]

While the Australian achieved every imaginable success in the pool, his premature retirement added a sad footnote to an athlete who had seemed destined for sporting immortality.

After winning three gold medals at the Sydney Olympics as a 17-year-old then another two at Athens, Thorpe's legacy is safe.

He had, however, seemed certain to scale greater heights by becoming the first male swimmer to win gold medals at three Olympics, a feat that proved even beyond the talents of Mark Spitz, Matt Biondi and Alexander Popov.

Yet, with less than two years to go before his supposed crowning glory at Beijing, Thorpe pulled the plug on his career, saying swimming was no longer the most important thing in his life.

The announcement sent shockwaves through the swimming world and his millions of fans around the globe but was not a complete surprise to those who have closely followed his career.

SENSITIVE MAN

A sensitive and fundamentally shy man who has spent the past decade soaked in chlorine, Thorpe has never been comfortable with the trappings of fame and fortune since he won his first world championship in 1998 when he was just 15, becoming the youngest male world champion in history.

He spent the next six years demolishing world records and stockpiling an unprecedented collection of gold medals, that included five Olympic and 11 world titles.

Aided by flipper-sized feet and hands like saucers, Thorpe possessed a perfect technique that made swimming look easy. While his rivals were thrashing and splashing their way down the pool, Thorpe would slice through the water in his trademark black swim suit.

Nothing seemed beyond him, yet all the time he was wrestling his own demons, trapped between his sporting ambitions and his hopes for a normal life away from the constant grind of training.

After scooping six gold medals at the 2001 world championships in Japan, Thorpe was facing increasing pressure to try and better Spitz's record haul of seven Olympic gold titles from the 1972 Munich Games.

Although his best performances were in 200 metres and 400m freestyle, Thorpe took the bait and began to experiment with new distances and strokes in the hope of finding a seventh event for Athens.

But everything changed for Thorpe on September 11, 2001 when a brush with death convinced him his relentless pursuit of Olympic immortality was futile and there were more important things in life.

Thorpe was holidaying in New York that day and was on his way to the World Trade Center when the first hijacked plane struck the twin towers.

The harrowing experience made him reassess his priorities and he vowed not to waste another day, abandoning his quest to replicate Spitz and splitting with long-time coach Doug Frost to train under Tracey Menzies, his former high school art teacher, who encouraged him to explore life outside the pool.

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