The five-time Olympic champion, who had retired in 2006, was followed by a camera crew which later produced a short film about his comeback. The spotlight on him even overshadowed Magnussen. However, Thorpe was always up against it, having allowed himself only a year to find enough fitness and form to earn himself an Olympic berth. A coach who was on the Olympic team and did not want to be named, said the emphasis that was placed on the comeback swimmers - of whom only Trickett made the team as a member of the 4x100 freestyle relay squad - caused much of the ill feeling that has been publicly exposed during the past week. ''Everyone else was forgotten,'' the coach said. ''There were swimmers making the team that didn't even get interviews on pool deck. It was horrible. [Thorpe's comeback] was a train wreck waiting to happen.'' Once Thorpe drove his sponsor-provided Audi away from the Glenelg pool for the final time, the focus shifted to Magnussen and, being Australia's best gold-medal chance, that remained until London.

''The whole lead-up to London … there was just this over-emphasis on Magnussen and the relay and it's like no one else existed and that was even leading up to trials,'' the coach said.
''It was like we never had a star before … then Magnussen came along and we didn't know how to handle him. We were sitting back, [thinking] this is ridiculous, and the rest of the team is just going, 'Do we even exist?'''
Former multiple world champion and world record holder Trickett, who disappointed coaches in London with an angry outburst after she was told she would not swim in the relay final, agreed a change to the way the swimmers were portrayed was needed. ''It's a very interesting thing to talk about because on some level there was that feeling that Maggie was separate from the group, a separate entity almost,'' Trickett said. ''I think that's the reality of the world that we live in. There will always be standouts.
''There is always someone who has performed outstandingly, who has performed consistently over a number of years and they will be the ones who are able to talk well or stir controversy or be the voice of reason and they will always be the people who the media will be more interested in talking to.