The fairytale has turned into a nightmare.

In February Thorpe qualified for the 2006 Commonwealth Games by winning the 100 m and 200 m freestyle in times of 49. Thorpe swam the 100 m butterfly and 100 m medley in Singapore (4–5 November) and Beijing (8–9 November) before also taking on the 100 m freestyle in the Tokyo (12–13 November) round of the 2011 FINA Swimming World Cup. Aside from 13 individual long-course world records Thorpe anchored the Australian relay teams numbering the victories in the 4 × 100 m and the 4 × 200 m freestyle relays in Sydney among his five relay world records.

Thorpe was the first person to have been named Swimming World Swimmer of the Year four times and was the Australian swimmer of the year from 1999 to 2003. He has won five Olympic gold medals the most won by any Australian and with three gold and two silver medals was the most successful athlete at the 2000 Summer Olympics. Aside from 13 individual long-course world records Thorpe anchored the Australian relay teams numbering the victories in the 4 × 100 m and the 4 × 200 m freestyle relays in Sydney among his five relay world records.