The 31-year-old five-time Olympic gold medallist was admitted to a Sydney hospital on Wednesday night after injuring himself in a fall earlier in the week, the Daily Telegraph reported overnight.
Friends told the paper Thorpe’s mental health had been in decline since his London Olympics comeback attempt failed in 2012.
He has been living in Switzerland for the past 18 months but returned to his family’s Panania home for Christmas.
He spent time at Bankstown Hospital and Strathfield Private Hospital before being released this afternoon.
Thorpe’s management has denied he was seeking treatment for depression and alcohol issues, claiming he was in hospital for shoulder surgery.
“Ian is not in rehab,” an SEL representative said. “Ian was in hospital for an operation on his shoulder and is pleased to let his friends and fans know that he is now out of hospital and on the mend.”
Despite the denial, dozens of Thorpe’s friends and associates – including best friend Alan Jones and mentor and fellow Olympic champion Kieran Perkins – have come forward acknowledging Thorpe’s problems and praising him for seeking treatment.
Perkins said he was “not surprised” to hear of Thorpe’s hospitalisation, while Jones – who said he had spoken to Thorpe last night – admitted the demons the sports star was facing were “serious”.
Thorpe revealed his battle with depression and alcohol abuse in an autobiography released in 2012.
“Not even my family is aware that I’ve spent a lot of my life battling what I can only describe as crippling depression,” he wrote.
He also said he used alcohol as a way of dealing with hard times in his life.
For more information about depression, visit Lifeline, Beyondblue or MensLine Australia.
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