Why Ian Thorpe Quit

"Thorpe did not win because of his height (Popov was taller), or his feet (which ensured a stupendous kick), but because he was driven. And that drive has dissipated. Fans may feel bereft, believing he had one more Olympics to completely halt the argument on the greatest swimmer ever, but you sense Thorpe was never driven by that. To himself he had nothing left to prove in the water." ---Great Ian Thorpe post by Philomath. Worth reading the entire entry on the blog.