Ian Thorpe has revealed the new lengths he is taking to keep his prized Olympic medal collection safe, after it was revealed the Aussie swimming superstar became the victim of an alleged theft at his Sydney home.
In March, it was revealed that Thorpe had been the victim of an alleged burglary that saw him lose valuables worth an estimated $150,000.
His manager, James Erskine, lifted the lid on some of the items that had gone missing, but they did not include his prized Olympic medals.
‘He’s been away, so he doesn’t know when the stuff has been stolen,’ Erskine told The Sydney Morning Herald at the time.
‘There seems to be no obvious break-in.
Aussie swimming great Ian Thorpe (pictured) has revealed the new safety measures he is taking to keep his prized Olympic medals safe
The freestyle swimmer, who won five gold medals during his distinguished Olympic career, has placed his medals inside of a new high-security safety deposit facility
‘There’s no missing Olympic medals. There were one or two sentimental items missing.’
Police revealed they had launched an investigation into the matter, with 2GB’s Ben Fordham later reporting that he had suffered a loss of around $150,000.
The Australian freestyle swimmer, who won five gold medals, three silver medals and a bronze medal during his appearances at the 2000 Sydney Games and 2004 Athens Olympics, has now revealed to his Instagram followers that he is now keeping his prized swimming honours in a high-security safe.
The 42-year-old, who initially announced his retirement in 2006 before making comebacks in 2011 and 2012, has employed safety deposit box firm Custodian Vaults to house his prized medals.
And the 6ft 5in freestyle swimming sensation, published several images of himself standing next to a huge safe, in the deposit.
‘I got locked up in a vault the other night – it was fun!’ Thorpe wrote on Instagram.
‘Twenty-five years on from the Sydney Olympics, a lot of my friends still hadn’t seen my Olympic medals. Mind you, I hadn’t seen them myself for 10 years!
‘What started as a moment I wasn’t sure I’d celebrate, turned into a special VIP tour at @custodianvaults for a small group of my dearest friends — thanks to some convincing by Paul Cochineas and the @palliongroup family.’
It comes after the Aussie Star is understood to have lost $150,000 in personal items, which did not include his medals, in an alleged theft at his Sydney home earlier this year.
Thorpe is pictured celebrating one of his three gold medals at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney
Thorpe was also pictured sitting on the floor next to his medals, which were draped on the stone slabs inside the vault.
‘My medals have now found a new home where I have easier access to them (but not anyone else).’
‘Friends were allowed to look but not touch my gold medals…. which quickly became touch but not taste!’
It comes after Thorpe revealed earlier this September that he almost quit swimming after that epic golden night in Sydney back in 2000.
He first clinched gold in the 400m freestyle. Less than an hour later, he claimed another victory in the 4x100m freestyle relay, to bank his second gold of the night – his third at the games. His sensational performance was later recognised by the Australian Olympic Committee who handed him the honour of being the country’s flag bearer at the closing ceremony.
‘The closing ceremony was over, and it was actually when the fighter jets were flying over the stadium,’ he said to The Sydney Morning Herald.
‘That was when I thought: “Maybe I’m done”. It was suffocating at times, and the pressure was enormous. I’d achieved the impossible dream.’
But thanks to things going outside of the pool, he would eventually return to swimming and pick up another four medals (two gold, a silver medal and a bronze) in Athens in 2004.
‘My world expanded outside the pool. It was the experiences beyond swimming that actually gave me the motivation to come back in,’ he said.
