View the Gallery / 5 Photos »

At the ripe old age of 24, and with 5 Olympic gold medals under his belt, Australian swimming sensation, Ian Thorpe has decided to retire from his illustrious career in competitive swimming.

“As of 2.53 on Sunday afternoon I decided I would not be swimming the world championships,” Thorpe said. “I also made a very difficult decision that day that I am actually going to discontinue my professional swimming career…I’d been working towards this decision for quite some time. I’m a 24-year-old, and I’m only just 24 as well…I’m young enough to still see the new challenges and be able to accept them within my life…I’m also old enough now that I realise all of these accomplishments that have got me to this place in my life…I also know there are a lot of people out there that want me to keep swimming…I only hoped that I wanted to swim half as much as other people want me to.”

A 3-month trip to Los Angeles helped Thorpe sort through his decision to stop swimming competitively. I just hope it didn’t convince him that what he needs to do is pursue a career in reality television. Unless it’s Dancing with The Stars.

Swimming ace Thorpe quits racing [The Sydney Morning Herald Online]

Written by Lisa Timmons