BEST PERFORMANCE: Surprisingly the 200m freestyle short course world record set in Berlin in 2000. "My best swimming performance was the 200m freestyle I did before the Olympic Games. I did a short course in Berlin, (I) had been accused of taking drugs and what not from the German head coach. It was a high pressure situation, it was my lead up to the Olympics, and with all of that on me it was a matter of me working out 'how am I going to get through this? Throw something at me, how am I going to respond to it?' And I came up trumps, it was the best swim that I'd done, and it's definitely the best performance that I had in a pool."

BEST OLYMPIC PERFORMANCE: Athens 2004 Games 400m freestyle gold medal. "The best performance that I had was my 400m freestyle in Athens, because of the state I was in before I swum it. I was really struggling and I was able to lift myself to get there."

FAVOURITE OLYMPIC MOMENT: Gold medal in the 4x100m freestyle relay at the Sydney 2000 Games. Thorpe, Michael Klim, Chris Fydler and Ashley Callus beat the favoured USA team after American Gary Hall Jnr had boasted the US would smash them like guitars.

PROUDEST MOMENT: Retirement speech. "Everyone will remember what I did in the pool, but this is one of my proudest moments in being able to stand up here and do this today."

GREATEST OPPONENT: Himself. "My greatest opponent - I think it's been myself. And especially now, I realise it more and more. I've been the biggest opponent to myself, and it's been hard to overcome."

FAVOURITE OPPONENTS: Australian Grant Hackett and Dutchman Pieter van den Hoogenband. "I've enjoyed racing against who I would probably consider my two biggest rivals - both Grant and Pieter."

COMEBACK?: No chance. "I don't see myself competing again. I don't think it will happen. I won't rule it out, I never rule anything out, but it won't happen."