Olympic icon Ian Thorpe has had $150,000 of goods taken from his home in an alleged theft he reported to police in Sydney on Thursday.
According to radio 2GB, the Olympic champion with five gold medals went to Paddington police station in the eastern part of the city to report what he called an ‘insurance job’.
The NSW Police explained in a statement that a 42-year-old man visited Paddington police station on Thursday, June 5, around 4pm, to report an incident of theft.
‘Officers attached to eastern suburbs have commenced an investigation into the alleged incident.
‘There is no further information available at this time.’
Thorpe has not commented on the alleged crime at the time of writing.
Ian Thorpe (pictured) has lost $150,000 in an alleged theft he reported to Sydney police on Thursday afternoon
The Olympic legend (pictured at this year’s Australian Open with Ben Doolan) reportedly described the alleged crime as an ‘insurance job’
‘He has had some things stolen from his house – watches, jewellery, some personal items,’ Thorpe’s manager James Erskine said on Friday morning.
‘He called up his insurers, they said go and make a police report.
‘I have no idea what the value is, to be honest.’
Erskine added that no gold medals were taken in the alleged crime.
‘He’s been away, so he doesn’t know when the stuff has been stolen. There seems to be no obvious break-in,’ Erskine told the Sydney Morning Herald.
‘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 (pictured with Jennifer Hawkins) lost watches, jewellery and personal items in the alleged crime, his manager revealed
‘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.’
Erskine, unaware of the alleged theft at first, was informed by Thorpe that his client went to the police station to discuss what he referred to as an ‘insurance job’.
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.
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.
Pictured: Thorpe’s townhouse in the glitzy Sydney suburb of Woollahra, not far from the police station he attended, which he took a $200,000 hit on when he listed it for sale in 2024
Thorpe is pictured celebrating one of his three gold medals at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney
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.
‘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.’
