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Tuesday March 17, 2009

Rice turns to Thorpe for advice

SYDNEY: Australian swimming’s golden girl Stephanie Rice said yesterday she had turned to superstar Ian Thorpe for advice on dealing with fame.

Rice admitted she had struggled in the spotlight since winning three gold medals at the Beijing Olympics, with constant speculation about boyfriends and stories about her post-Games partying.

Speaking before this week’s World Championship trials in Sydney, Rice said five-time Olympic gold medallist Thorpe had provided valuable advice.

“I think people deal with it in different ways and Ian was really great because I think I could sort of relate my stories better to him and I think they hit him more emotionally rather than anything else,” she said.

“So it was good to see how he handled it emotionally and how he got through all the scrutiny and that really helped me out.”

The 20-year-old said Thorpe told her to ignore the scrutiny.

“He was just telling me that it is important to know who you are as a person and not to get wound up and don’t read the media and ... it’s hard to read bad stuff about you and let it go,” she said.

“You always want to fire back and say something.”

She said the intrusion had impacted on her relationships with friends and family.

“It has been one that has tested the relationship and the boundaries of everyone and it is something we have all worked through together,” she said.

“I am glad that we have got to that point because it was a bit shaky in the middle there.”

Rice will contest seven events at this week’s trials. — AFP

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