Reporter puts her foot in it

A TV reporter left Australian swim star Ian Thorpe red-faced and angry over a quip that his famous size 17 feet must mean he was big in another department.

Nicki Voss made the joke during a warmup for an interview for a current affairs show for Australia's Channel Seven. When the world champion and Olympic gold medal swimmer objected, Voss got the sack. The network labelled her comments "inappropriate" and she claimed, said her skirt was too short.

Thorpe,19, had just been signed by the Seven network in a major sporting coup but executives were far from amused when their new star took exception to the jibe as the ink was barely dry. The incident led Ms Voss to an industrial relations court in Brisbane claiming wrongful dismissal.

Thorpe, nicknamed Thorpedo after he won three Olympic gold medals, was not present as lawyers for both sides argued out the matter in the court corridors.

After a marathon conciliation session, lawyers for Ms Voss, 29, announced they had reached a confidential resolution. Ms Voss emerged close to tears and refused to comment. Her lawyer, Susan Moriarty, would not comment on the agreement.

A Channel Seven spokeswoman said it would be "highly unlikely for Channel Seven or any other employer to dismiss an employee over a single incident or issue".

This is London sport