I asked a librarian friend of mine this morning to check the world's media databases and provide a rough measure of the impact of Ian Thorpe's retirement.

The verdict: over the past two days, more than 2,500 daily publications around the globe ran the story, the wordage devoted to the great Aussie, approx 2.5 million words. That is probably a dip in the ocean to what the final tally will be, while broadcasters filled the airwaves with news, discussion, comment and footage of Thorpey's biggest moments.

And all that for a swimmer. It is one of the reasons why the sport owes Mr Thorpe a very big thankyou indeed.

It is not possible to carry every quote and view given the world over about Thorpe over the past 48 hours, so the last word here goes to his three greatest competitors, Grant Hackett, Pieter van den Hoogenband and Michael Phelps.

Hackett summed up with: "There's no doubt he's the best athlete I ever competed against."

Phelps called Thorpe "an inspiration and terrific champion . . . who elevated worldwide interest in swimming".

And Van den Hoogenband came up with the following gem, one that will doubtless be used in many places on many occasions in future: "I'll feel like a fish out of water, not having this big black fish beside me . . . Thorpe forced me to push beyond my limits."