Olympics legend spotted in wheelchair after 'serious and painful' accident while shooting reality TV show

Olympics hero Ian Thorpe was spotted in a wheelchair in Brisbane on Wednesday, in concerning scenes for his fans.

Thorpe, 41, won five Olympic gold medals during his glittering career in the pool and has become a household name since retirement.

According to 7News, Thorpe suffered a 'serious and painful' injury while shooting a reality TV show, resulting him needing to use a wheelchair to get in and out of the Brisbane Aquatic Centre, where he is doing broadcast work for the Paris trials.

'We're told Ian Thorpe is completely OK, but apparently the injury was a serious and painful one,' Seven's Chris Reason said.

Thorpe is believed to have sustained the injury while filming Celebrity Amazing Race, where he teamed up with childhood friend Christian Miranda.

The 41-year-old has been a leading voice for gay rights in sport, having come out as gay in 2014. He kept his sexuality hidden during his professional career as he did not want any 'distractions' from competition. 

'I had to swim the Olympics and had to win. I did not want anything to be a distraction for me. I don't want people talking about this,' he said earlier this year. 

'So every time it is alluded you may be gay, you're thinking of it as a negative thing and as a young person you make it bigger than it needs to be. So I answered no.' 

Thorpe said he regretted concealing his sexuality for so long because it made the process of coming out feel much more confronting. 

'I'm comfortable saying I'm a gay man. And I don't want people to feel the same way I did. You can grow up, you can be comfortable and you can be gay.'

The five-time Olympic gold medalist came out as gay during an interview with respected English television presenter Sir Michael Parkinson in July 2014.

The athlete later revealed during an episode of This Is Your Life in 2022 that he decided to speak out about his sexuality because he was finally 'comfortable'.

'I was always doing this interview with Sir Michael Parkinson. I had just come out to my family and to my very very closest friends,' Ian told host Melissa Doyle.

'I had spent some time with [Sir Michael Parkinson] before the interview and told him, "You should ask me if I'm gay because I'm going to tell you I am".'

Ian continued: 'I needed to say it. It was the first time I felt I was comfortable enough to put my self out there. It was important for me to be my authentic self.'

At the time, the athlete declared: 'I've thought about this for a long time. I'm not straight. And this is only something that very recently - in the past two weeks - I've been comfortable telling the closest people around me exactly that.'

The Sydney native was first asked about his sexuality at 16 years old and said he didn't know at that stage but 'was still gay at the end of the day.'

'Yes, I lied about it. I'm now comfortable saying I'm a gay man.'