http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20001008/re/television_swimmer_dc_1.html
Aussie Swimmer Keen to Make 'Friends' in U.S.
SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian swimmer Ian Thorpe (news - web sites), who won three Olympic gold medals in Sydney, is about to head off to the United States with ambitions to star in the hit sitcom ''Friends.''
Australian model Elle Macpherson, who has appeared in a cameo role in the sitcom, has offered to help the 17-year-old swimmer achieve his acting goal, Thorpe's manager told Reuters on Monday.
Manager Dave Flaskas said Thorpe would visit the United States later this week with swimming teammates and fellow gold medallists Michael Klim (news - web sites) and Grant Hackett (news - web sites).
``Ian's just going to have a look around the United States,'' said Flaskas. ``He's expressed an interest in doing TV work. He did a cameo on (the Australian sitcom) 'Home and Away'.''
Flaskas said Thorpe will make his entry into Manhattan society as a guest of fashion guru Giorgio Armani, who is hosting an event at the Guggenheim Museum to celebrate his 25 years in the fashion world.
Sydney's Daily Telegraph newspaper on Monday played up Thorpe's acting ambitions, super-imposing a photograph of the swimmer alongside the cast of ``Friends.''
``Of course I would (put in a good word for Ian) but I think he has more pull than I do at the moment,'' Macpherson told the paper.