Thorpe bleiv nr 12 í semifinaluna. Tíðin hjá honum 1:49.91 var spakuligari enn hansara innleiðandi tíð í nátt (1:49.16). Thorpe segði aftaná, at teir seinastu 100 m vóru harðir.
“The last 100 was a struggle, I’m not sure why. This was slower than what I swam this morning, probably the inexperience of racing in the last 18 months held me up. The fairytale has turned into a nightmare. I’m really grateful for everyone’s support, they’ve been great. Hopefully I’ll be faster (in the 100m).”