Olympic gold medal-winning swimmer Ian Thorpe told Sunday Style that dating has pretty much been a nightmare since he came out publicly.
“Dating’s been a lot harder than I thought it would be,” 33-year-old Thorpe said. “It’s an absolute mess out there! I’m like, ‘Where are all the normal people?’ I’ve mostly met great guys but, occasionally, I’ve met a couple of douche-y guys as well. It’s enough motivation for me to want to settle down with someone away from that scene.”
Related: Ian Thorpe Reveals He Finds Dating A Nightmare Since He Came Out Last Year
OK, so what can we extract from this? First, Thorpe is definitely looking to settle down, which is sorta sweet. Second, he doesn’t like douche bags. Good to know that Olympians have the same struggles as us ordinary folk. But how else might you go about winning his heart? And we don’t just mean to pick on Ian. Gus Kenworthy is apparently in play these days, too, although Tom Daley is definitely taken. So is Blake Skjellerup.
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Scroll down for five strategies on nabbing an Olympian…
Hit the gym, especially the pool
First and foremost, if you want to date a professional athlete, you should probably be in pretty good shape yourself. Fitness is important to him, after all. Plus it will give you a better understanding of just how hard he works to look the way he looks. Oh, and let’s not forget that working out is a healthy extracurricular activity, and we could all stand to lose a few pounds.
Know your Olympic facts
And we don’t just mean what brand of swimwear Tom Daly is sporting these days. Learn when and where the Olympics will next take place (hint: Rio, 2016), what sports will be featured, and who the previous winners were. You might even want to spend a few minutes brushing up on the history of the Olympic Games, which is actually pretty fascinating, not to mention pretty homoerotic.
Check out his Instagram page
This will help you to see what kind of guys he likes before you even approach. You might learn that you’re just not be his type, in which case you’d be better served searching for someone else rather than waste time hoping he’ll give you a shot.
Don’t stalk him on social media or Grindr
Scrolling through his Istagram page is one thing, but sending him a million tweets or liking every single one of his status updates is just weird and makes you seem like a stalker. And nobody wants to date a stalker. There is a short distance between a fan and a fanatic, Kathy Bates style.
Once you get together, don’t be a freak.
Be yourself. Unless, of course, you are a freak–maybe he’ll like that.
mada
“Don’t stalk him on social media”.
If that’s the case, I suppose reading an article called “Five Tips For Snagging Ian Thorpe Or Another Olympian” for advice would not be a fantastic approach either.
GayEGO
I don’t see as many douche bags as I did back in the 1960s when there were a lot of gays acting that way either because they thought they were suppose to or they were being rebellious against the straights.
I remember comments like – “Well Mary, you’re such a dishy queen!” or “OK Mary Doogan, I saw you in the tea room last night having some sausage!”
We just need to be ourselves and look for the relationship that we are attracted to, both physical and personal.
Baba Booey Fafa Fooey
So, be hot and be all about him.
Got it.
Chris
His are the complaints of everyone who is famous, accomplished or rich: “I can’t find someone who loves me just for who I am.” Though I feel slightly bad for their predicaments, I look at it as a trade off. My only advice would be to surround yourself by people who knew you back when….
Paco
I wonder what his definition is of a normal person. If he can’t find any normal people, then maybe he needs to consider that he may be the one that is the oddball.
pscheck2
His comments are puzzling since he alludes to the fact his dating has been horses**t! since he came out! The guy is 33 years old-he has been gay (I assume) all his life, so he didn’t start dating until he came out? (If you believe that, you believe in the tooth fairy!). I guess he wants our sympathy for having run against a stone wall in finding Mr. Right! Notice he seems to want to distance himself from the gay environment –maybe he wants to frequent the sports bars and find a str8 dude to seduce? Then, maybe, he is just being too fussy as to the type of person he wants to date (after all, he is an Olympic star, no?).
Dennis Sandoval
tip 1. look like them
Milton Appleby
Don’t want to snag any of them. I have my husband.
Avery Alvarez
He and Taylor Swift should both be acquainted with the phrase:
“Maybe it’s you…”
jjunke
having met Ian Thorpe on a number of ocassions and seen how he interacts with everyday Aussies who have always admired him, I can only say that he is a rude, egotisical, self centered, vain, narcissistic former swimmer that can’t cope with the fact that the corporate industry are just not interested in him or his life anymore. Whats more he’s very much out of shape and not the most handsome guy getting around.Im not sure who would want to ‘snag’ him.
CivicMinded
If you’re having trouble dating, follow these tips:
1. Nobody likes a downer. Don’t whine or complain. Don’t talk about how hard your life has been. Yes I’m looking at you, Ian Thorpe.
2. Be charming. It’s incredible how far you can get just by smiling and being bubbly and talking about positive things even if you have something that you perceive as a negative such as increased weight. Personality conquers most negatives.
3. You have to have something to offer. If you want a relationship then your life, hobbies, activities need to complement your partner’s. If you just want sex then you have to offer sex appeal. “Sex appeal” doesn’t mean you have to be Mr. Hardbody. You just have to find the person who finds you appealing. That may not be the person you want.
4. Look for a date in your own backyard. Ian Thorpe, you must know plenty of Olympians and Olympian wannabes. They share many of your same values. They have similar ethics. They know how hard you work at your profession. They probably have a similar income to you. You can’t find someone in that crowd? I’d imagine there’s a sugar daddy or two who’s available to fund you.
5. Money. You have to have some kind of success and that can be as simple as holding onto a job and an apartment. Even a drug addict can get a date with another drug addict if successful at procuring drugs. You can always date beneath your economic station but it’s very difficult to date above it.
6. Appearance. You don’t have to have expensive clothes but you do need to show that you care. Comb your hair. Iron your clothes. I don’t want to be afraid that I will get a mouthful of soup if I kiss a man with a beard. Trim it. Change your clothes every day so you don’t smell.
Cam
Honestly, he seems like a mess with a closet full of baggage. Maybe the article should be about, “What can Ian Thorpe do to make normal people want to date him?”