"I'm really happy with how I've been performing over the last three weeks since I made the announcement," Thorpe told reporters at Sydney Airport on Thursday prior to his departure for a training camp in Abu Dhabi. "Things are progressing well and I've just really wanted to get on the plane and really be able to start. This kind of feels like this is the next part of it."
Thorpe, who cannot compete until November 2 when he will have been back on the international drug-testing register for nine months, has yet to reveal who will guide him through to next year's London Olympics but said the identity of his coach would be revealed soon. "I have a coach," Thorpe added. "You can guess as much as you want. Look, it's not a secret... It will be public knowledge as soon as I start training. It's no big deal."
Australian head coach Leigh Nugent will be joining Thorpe in the Middle East next week, though the swimmer refused to reveal who his long-term option was. "At the moment, the people that I'm bringing in, I want to be able to train with them and pretty much be by myself and to be left alone during that training process. "Until everything pans out as planned, I won't be letting you know," he said, adding that he was happy with who he was training with now.
Thorpe captured 11 world titles, nine Olympic medals and set 13 long-course records before announcing his retirement in Nov 2006. After more than four years away from the pool, the 28-year-old announced his return early this month.