After his feats at the 2003 World Championships, Speedo had generated significant media publicity by offering Michael Phelps US$1 million if he could match Spitz's seven golds. Thorpe was adamant that this was impossible, and scrapped his seventh event, the 200 m individual medley from his Olympic program.Hunter, pp. 349–350. In late March 2004 at the Australian Championships in Sydney, Thorpe overbalanced whilst on the blocks in the heats of the 400 m freestyle and fell into the water, resulting in his disqualification and ending the defence of his Olympic 400 m title. This resulted in a large debate among the swimming and public community as to whether Thorpe should be given an exception to Australia's policy of selecting the first and second place getters, with Prime Minister of Australia John Howard describing the situation as a "tragedy". Despite the intense media spotlight, Thorpe managed to win the 100 m and 200 m freestyle events to ensure his selection for Athens. Craig Stevens, who had claimed the second qualifying position in the 400 m event, subsequently faced immense public pressure to relinquish his position to Thorpe, and later did so in a television interview for which he was paid. This generated ethical debate as to whether Stevens' decision had been bought, and criticism against Thorpe.Hunter, pp. 354–359.
After his feats at the 2003 World Championships, Speedo had generated significant media publicity by offering Michael Phelps US$1 million if he could match Spitz's seven golds. Thorpe was adamant that this was impossible, and scrapped his seventh event, the 200 m individual medley from his Olympic program.Hunter, pp. 349–350. In late March 2004 at the Australian Championships in Sydney, Thorpe overbalanced whilst on the blocks in the heats of the 400 m freestyle and fell into the water, resulting in his disqualification and ending the defence of his Olympic 400 m title. This resulted in a large debate among the swimming and public community as to whether Thorpe should be given an exception to Australia's policy of selecting the first and second place getters, with Prime Minister of Australia John Howard describing the situation as a "tragedy". Despite the intense media spotlight, Thorpe managed to win the 100 m and 200 m freestyle events to ensure his selection for Athens. Craig Stevens, who had claimed the second qualifying position in the 400 m event, subsequently faced immense public pressure to relinquish his position to Thorpe, and later did so in a television interview for which he was paid This generated ethical debate as to whether Stevens' decision had been bought, and criticism against Thorpe.Hunter, pp. 354–359.