Ian Thorpe has cut a devastated figure in exclusive Daily Mail Australia photos taken shortly after the news broke that he was the victim of an alleged theft at his Sydney home that saw him lose valuables worth an estimated $150,000.
The five-time Olympic gold medallist was photographed shopping near his eastern suburbs home on Friday, just hours after the first reports detailing the alleged crime.
Thorpe, 42, looked depressed and out of sorts as he went shopping and had a phone conversation almost 24 hours since he went to Paddington police station in the city’s east to make a report at 4pm on Thursday.
His manager James Erskine shed further light on the horrible loss in revelations made on Friday.
‘He has had some things stolen from his house – watches, jewellery, some personal items,’ Erskine said.
‘He called up his insurers, they said go and make a police report.’
Ian Thorpe cut a troubled picture in exclusive Daily Mail Australia photos taken just hours after news of the alleged theft broke
The 42-year-old looked troubled and out of sorts as he went shopping in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, not far from the police station where he reported the alleged crime
Thorpe – who has not commented publicly on his shocking loss – was seen in conversation on the phone after his valuable personal items were taken while he was away
Erskine then deepened the mystery over what happened in separate comments.
‘He’s been away, so he doesn’t know when the stuff has been stolen,’ Erskine told the Sydney Morning Herald.
‘There seems to be no obvious break-in.
‘There’s no missing Olympic medals. There were one or two sentimental items missing.’
Erskine added that Thorpe is ‘fine’ after the shocking discovery and is ‘not too bothered about the material stuff’.
Thorpe attended Paddington police station in the city’s east to report the alleged crime, which he described as an ‘insurance job’, according to radio 2GB.
‘At about 4pm on Thursday, June 5, a 42-year-old man attended Paddington police station to report an alleged theft incident,’ NSW Police said in a statement.
‘Officers attached to eastern suburbs have commenced an investigation into the alleged incident.
Thorpe’s manager James Erskine shed some light on the alleged crime, revealing none of the Olympics legend’s gold medals were taken
The items allegedly stolen from Thorpe’s property included watches and jewellery, according to his manager
The stunning alleged incident is not the first time the 42-year-old has been a victim of crime
‘There is no further information available at this time.’
Thorpe has not commented on the alleged crime at the time of writing.
‘We believe he’s in the red to the tune of $150,000,’ 2GB’s Ben Fordham told listeners.
‘There are no details about what’s allegedly happened to Ian Thorpe.
‘We don’t know if he’s been robbed online or in person.’
Fordham said Erskine was initially unaware of the alleged theft, but Thorpe told him he saw the police ‘to talk about an insurance job’ when he contacted his client.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Thorpe and his management for comment.
The news of the alleged theft comes after Thorpe also took a financial hit in October last year.
He listed his luxury Sydney home in the upmarket suburb of Woollahra – not far from the police station he attended on Thursday – for $3.5million after purchasing the exquisite four-bed, three-bathroom townhouse in December 2017 for $2.75million.
He had previously listed it for $3.7million in September 2023, but failed to find a buyer at that price and was then faced with taking a $200,000 hit.
The star of the Sydney 2000 Games (pictured at this year’s Australian Open with Ben Doolan) reportedly described the alleged crime as an ‘insurance job’
Thorpe is pictured celebrating one of his three gold medals at the 2000 Olympics
Thorpe did extensive renovation work to the property, which also features open-plan living areas, a stunning re-modelled terrace and stylish sliding doors.
Speaking to The Sydney Morning Herald in 2023, letting agent Courtney Wong said the home is the ‘best one’ in the area, situated away from the street.
‘It’s completely private and secluded,’ he added.
The recent alleged theft isn’t the first time Thorpe has been a victim of crime.
In 2005 his Audi TT coupé was broken into in Glebe in Sydney’s inner west, with the thieves stealing a watch.
‘The watch that’s missing has great sentimental value to me and I would really appreciated it being returned,’ Thorpe said at the time.
The Omega timepiece featured the Olympic logo and was given to Thorpe at the 2004 Athens Games.
Thorpe – who starred on Channel Nine’s swimming commentary team for the Paris Olympics last year – went public with a devastating admission last September.
He revealed that an irregular result to a drug test plunged him into a depression so deep he thought about taking his own life.
When the result was revealed by a French newspaper, Thorpe obtained medical evidence that cleared his name, and sued the publication for reporting that his sample had elevated levels of testosterone and luteinising hormone.
At the time the revelation was so devastating he did not want to leave his house, feeling that mental health issues should be resolved personally, and contemplating attempting his own life and staging it as an accident.
Thorpe (pictured) told police about the alleged theft when he made a report at Paddington police station at about 4pm on Thursday
‘An irregular test isn’t uncommon. They happen. So firstly, no one should know that information to begin with,’ Thorpe said.
‘An irregular test means nothing. An irregular test gets thrown out.’
It was one of many pressures Thorpe experienced during his sporting career.
At 14, Thorpe didn’t think he deserved to compete in the World Championships, wondered if winning the same tournament at 15 was a ‘fluke’, and felt mounting pressure at 17 to win gold at the Sydney Olympics.
‘People were assuming a result that hadn’t happened yet. I would be with my mother at the shop, and people would say, “We’ve got tickets to the Olympics, we can’t wait to see you win your first gold medal”,’ he said.
‘I couldn’t escape that part of it. Then it started being hyped up more and more and more. I was surrounded by it.’
