One of Australia’s greatest sportswomen takes Ian Thorpe to task over his controversial call on the Olympics

Alyssa Healy has taken issue with comments made by Australian swimming legend Ian Thorpe during the Olympics.

Thorpe, who watched the national quartet of top women’s freestyle athletes win gold in the relay, was full of praise as they reached the top step of the podium for the fourth time in a row.

“I don’t think there’s a more dominant Australian team in any code, in any sport,” he said. “Please tell me if there is one. I’ve got no problem being wrong.”

Healy, captain of the Australian women’s cricket team, who watched the match at home with her husband Mitchell Starc, was stunned by the comment.

The cricketers certainly have a right to be the best Australian team in any code. They have won the last four World Cups, won gold at the Commonwealth Games two years ago and won every Ashes series since 2015.

“I think it’s great that (Thorpe) came up with that and that he highlighted that,” Healy told the Daily Telegraph.

‘And then you suddenly see people pointing to other teams that have been just as successful. I mean, I love the quote from (rugby sevens star) Charlotte Caslick as well about (in order to) get some attention, they have to win gold to get attention.

‘And I think that’s where we’re at. People expect us to win all the time.

Thorpe made a comment during the Paris Olympics that caught Healy’s attention

Thorpe said the Australian 4x100m team is the best in any code, but Healy thinks otherwise

‘And if you fall a little bit short, it’s like the world is ending, but at the same time it’s professional sport and it’s hard to maintain that standard. So look, we’ll keep doing our best and try to get into Thorpey’s mind.’

Healy had this to say about how her team keeps their motivation high despite having won everything there is to win in their sport: ‘We also set very high standards for ourselves.

‘We don’t go to a World Cup thinking we’re going to finish second. We go there to win a trophy and we set the bar high.’

‘But we know within our group where we stand and what that will look like.

“But we keep the expectations from outside a bit at bay. Everyone thinks we’re going to take home the trophy, but we know how hard it is to win a World Cup and how close we’ve been to not winning World Cups in the past.

“So we don’t take that for granted. We let the outside noise do its work. And we just focus on what we can do internally to make sure we get the job done.”