Thorpe's withdrawal raises doubts over his future

SYDNEY, Mar 8 (Reuters) Ian Thorpe's withdrawal from the Melbourne Commonwealth Games has rekindled doubts about his prospects of ever returning to his best after taking a break from the sport.

Thorpe took a year off from the constant grind of training after winning another two gold medals at the Athens Olympics, saying he wanted to recharge his batteries before the long road to the Beijing Games in 2008.

A number of top swimmers and coaches queried Thorpe's decision to take a year off, warning him that he would find it hard to return to training once he stopped.

And his decision to pull out of the Commonwealth Games because of a mystery illness related to bronchitis and a viral infection has only intensified concerns about his future.

Thorpe was a serial record breaker in his younger days and still holds the world record for the 200 metres and 400m freestyle but hasn't broken a world record in four years.

Former Australian swimmer Susie O'Neill, who won gold medals at the 1996 and 2000 Olympics, said she believed Thorpe was past his best.

''He won't get back to his fastest times, but that's not to say he's not capable of winning another world championship,'' she told the Daily Telegraph.

''I just don't think he'll set any more world records or match the kind of times he was doing a few years ago.'' Former Olympian Nicole Livingstone told the same newspaper she also believed Thorpe's best days were behind him.

''He's not going to be as good as he was in the halcyon times, when he kept breaking world record after world record, it's just physically not possible,'' she said.

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