Thorpe has a secret lady love

Former Olympian swimmer Ian Thorpe is ready to admit that he’s fallen in love. However, he’s not ready to tell the world who the woman of his dreams is. The only thing that the privacy-loving Thorpe will reveal is that the person is not an Australian. "There is (someone special in my life), but they don’t live in this country," Thorpe was quoted as saying. Thorpe, who is preparing to travel to the Beijing Olympics to honour sponsorship commitments, described the relationship as a "newbie" and said it was going well. The former Olympic gold medallist had been linked to a bevy of women, and in 2006, gossip had him dating television sports presenter Lee Furlong. And at the Athens Olympics in 2004, the Australian swimming star was rumoured to be in a relationship with American swimming star Amanda Beard. The 25-year-old’s sexuality has also been the subject of speculation with persistent claims the gold-medallist is gay.