Calm power of a giant of the pool

Swimming

Ian Thorpe used his Olympic Games debut to confirm himself as one of the greatest swimmers the world has seen. At 17, that can be deemed to be going some. But last night even he, with his immense inner calm, had to question the wilder assumptions about his invincibility.

Two events, two golds, two world records. The opening day in the pool bestowed its favours upon the local boy from Milperra as if automatically. But an extension of the sequence in today's 200m freestyle final was fired with uncertainty from the moment Pieter van den Hoogenband mugged him of his world record in the semi-finals.

The Dutchman's 1min 45.35sec, improving his personal best by more than a sec ond, shaved 16/100ths from Thorpe's mark. Sat a few yards away, Thorpe's eyes widened in silent admiration. In the next heat, he fell 2/100ths short of claiming it back. Across Australia came the sound of shifting feet.

There is no more colossal talent at these Olympics than Thorpe. In the pool his burly nine-foot full-stretch frame in a full-length black bodysuit mechanically shifts aside the metres with intimidating calm. Out of the water his serenity is equally overpowering, a rare asset in a country that prefers its sport with a dash of brash. He is a man entirely respectful of the gifts bestowed upon him.

The word "man" is not used lightly. Dara Torres, the American freestyle swimmer, found herself sitting alongside him on the first evening on the athletes' bus travelling to the stadium. Torres, the first American to swim in four Olympics, is hardly starry-eyed, but truly great sportsmen are regarded with awe even by their fellow competitors.

"I'd never seen him in real life before," she said. "I thought, 'Oh my God, there he is, I've just gotta sneak a look at his hands'. They were huge. Then I thought, 'Oh my God, I've gotta see his feet, I hope he doesn't notice.' They were huge, too. He's such a big guy. This is no kid."

Brian Sutton, who has coached nine Australian Olympians, says this: "If you were going to do a Frankenstein, put a swimmer together from scratch, you'd build Ian Thorpe." Don Talbot, Australian swimming's head coach, calls him "the swimmer of the century" and doesn't care which one.

Thorpe, even with his spectacular Olympic debut still sharp in the mind, shunned the accolade. "It's going to take a lot more top performances to take that title," he said. "It's something that I can't justify."

Thorpe certainly stands alongside the likes of Mark Spitz, Matt Biondi and Alexander Popov in the pantheon of great freestylers. His languid power is assisted by the longest stroke in swimming history, around eight inches above average. He comes from a weighty family and, at more than 16 stone, only those endless 4.15am training sessions control the poundage. He is only adequate in the gym and, at ball sports, pretty much a duffer. The water, though, defines him. He loves the beach and the surf. Even his favourite computer game is Coolboarders2.

His rivals can at least draw comfort from the fact that those famous "size 17" flippers have stopped growing. That, incidentally, is Australian sizing. In the UK, his shoes are a mere size 15 ...

His 400m victory was an inevitable expression of his middle-distance supremacy. The Italian Massimo Rosolino trimmed an eyebrow-raising five seconds off his best over the course of the day, yet Thorpe was already gently mouthing "thank you" by the time the Italian touched to take silver.

It was a monumental relay which gave Thorpe most satisfaction. Just to make the start-line was a challenge. In the hour between races he had to swimdown, collect his medal, warm up and haul his bodysuit back on. It was that which briefly disturbed even his equanimity. "I had to have the help of about four people to get back into it," he said. "I had to run out to start the race. It was very nerve-racking."

The United States, traditionally unbeatable in the Olympic 4x100m, smashed the world record by more than a second. But Australia still outdid them by 2/10ths. Thorpe, who had been burnt off over the first 50 by Gary Hall Jr, the natural sprinter, recovered in the final metres in a personal-best 48.30sec split.

"I doff my swim cap to the great Ian Thorpe," said Hall. Dawn Fraser, the finest woman swimmer ever to represent Australia, was not alone in calling it the greatest relay she had seen.

Chants of "Thorpey" and flashing cameras among a capacity crowd rent the air as the Australians treated Hall, who had spoken of "smashing them like guitars" to a mimed poolside concert. It was then that Thorpe, fearful that he might be wrong, quietly told his team-mate Michael Klim that his opening leg of 48.18sec was a world record.

Klete Keller, third to Thorpe in the 400m, rejected notions that Thorpe was invincible, saying it was "only a matter of time" before the world started catching up. "He has set these standards and people have to reach them," said the American.

Whatever the outcome of today's 200m final, Van den Hoogenband's smashing of Thorpe's world record in the semi supported Keller's contention. But every time Keller motivates himself by pinning Thorpe's times to the wall, this great and benign champion changes the arithmetic. Today's clash with the Dutchman will show whether Keller's logic - as well as his wall - is full of holes.