On the eve of the Rio Olympics, swimming great Ian Thorpe has revealed he knew threats were made against him at competitions.

The five-time Olympic gold medallist opened up on competing despite safety issues, a problem Australia’s athletes will face in Rio de Janeiro, where security and health fears are rife.

Thorpe, who told Fox Sports he knew people were trying to harm him while he was in competition, said it was just something he had to deal with.

“I’ve been to competitions and known that there was both a direct and an indirect threat against me in terms of security,” he said.

“You consider it. And for me I was happy to go into the competition knowing that and knowing that this was an important part of my life and this is what I do.”

Thorpe was 17 when he won three gold medals in Sydney. Photo: AAP

The ex-swimmer’s former manager, David Flaskas, later told The New Daily that Thorpe was regularly inundated with “stupid, abusive calls and mail”.

“We would get prank calls from people abusing Ian and trying to rattle him,” Mr Flaskas said.

“He would also get letters that contained a lot of abuse toward him.

“We were always very conscious of Ian’s security and we took the best precautions we could.”

Mr Flaskas said all information about the contact was relayed to Australian swimming team officials.

He claimed fellow stars Grant Hackett and Michael Klim also received abusive correspondence.

Olympics the ‘be-all-and-end-all’

The 2016 Games have been riddled by security and health concerns – and they haven’t even started.

Rio de Janeiro has one of the highest crime rates in the world, while the Zika virus and polluted water at Olympic venues were making athletes wary of health implications.

But Thorpe said the Olympics were “pretty much” the be-all-and-end-all for athletes and such concerns should not block them from competing.

“It’s a four-year commitment in your life that you have to do within your sport to be able to get that result,” he said.

“So in putting that into perspective and considering all the things that can be a distraction, the risks that there are going to an Olympic Games [have to be weighed up].”

Cate and Bronte Campell hold huge gold medal hopes. Photo: Getty

After a disastrous 2012 London Olympics, Australia’s swimming team is looking to put in a resurgent and gold-filled performance in Rio.

“What was disappointing for a lot of us was that the [London] team didn’t represent the values that we have as well,” Thorpe told the ABC.

Australia won just one gold medal in the pool in London, which came in the women’s 4x100m freestyle relay.

James Magnussen found himself in hot water in London. Photo: Getty

It was the first Games that Australia did not win an individual gold in swimming since the Montreal edition in 1976.

A “toxic” culture within the team was blamed afterwards, while a ‘bonding session’ that saw some swimmers take sedative Stilnox was also criticised.

Cameron McEvoy, James Magnussen, Eamon Sullivan, Matthew Targett and Tommaso D’Orsogna all admitted to taking Stilnox on a night they were accused of “prank phone calls and door knocking”.

Australia are ranked world No.1 in the men’s and women’s 4x100m freestyle relays, while other gold strong gold medal chances include Bronte Campbell (50 and 100m freestyle), Emily Seebohm (100 and 200m backstroke), Mitch Larkin (100 and 200m backstroke), Cate Campbell (100m freestyle) and Cameron McEvoy (100m freestyle).

– with ABC