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Ian Thorpe, the Australian swimmer, has spent much of his life fighting crippling depression and has, at times, considered suicide... he admits in his new book. The five-times Olympic gold medal-winner... confesses in This is Me: The Autobiography'- Ian Thorpe's achievements in the water are nothing short of phenomenal. He has won a record-holding eleven World Championship titles and ten Commonwealth Games gold medals. He has broken twenty-two world records and won five gold, three silver and one bronze Olympic medals. Having been under the spotlight since he was a young teenager, Thorpe retired from competitive swimming in 2006 because of the intense pressure he felt, but five years later he decided to make a hugely publicised comeback. Ian is one of the world's most successful sportsmen, but it is the way he has managed his triumphs and his commitment to helping others that have earned him respect and admiration internationally. Thorpe's autobiography follows him all the way from his childhood in Sydney right up to the London Olympics.This is a man who has had highs and lows away from the pool, who has led an extraordinary life of an elite athlete that most of us will never know, who has faced up to his own demons, and who has the courage to come back and stake his claim for the ultimate goal once more. About the Author Ian Thorpe is a world-famous freestyle swimmer. At the age of 14, he became the youngest male swimmer ever to represent Australia and the youngest ever individual male World Champion. He has won nine Olympic medals (five gold) and eleven World Championship golds.