Australian swimmer Grant Hackett reckons that his former teammate Ian Thorpe retired early because of the emotional burden of keeping the fact that he was gay, secret.
Hackett wrote in a blog that he believes that this was the major factor that led to Thorpe wrapping up his career in his mid-20s.
According to Stuff.co.nz, Hackett wrote that the heights Thorpe scaled throughout his career were unprecedented, but there could have been a whole lot more to the CV of the Australian swimmer.
Three-time Olympic gold medallist Hackett applauded Thorpe's courage to come out of the closet in a television interview with British journalist Sir Michael Parkinson on Sunday, but claimed that it was not a surprise to many.
Hackett said that it would have been unbearable to think of the emotional burden Thorpe has carried over the years.
He added that the expectation of public and media every time the Australian competed, coupled with the lack of insight into dealing with depression and being uncomfortable about opening up about his sexuality, created too much of a high pressured environment.
Hackett also said that Thorpe had never said he disliked swimming, adding that it was always the outside factors that contributed to his early retirement.