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Coates says swim team culture is back

5th August, 2014
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An emphasis on improving unity in the Australian Olympic team and developing a Team Australia culture is already paying off, with the swimming team among the early beneficiaries.

Australia can’t match the funding of several of their rivals for a top-five spot on the Olympic medal table, but are looking at improving other areas in a bid to boost their haul at the 2016 Rio Games.

Their effort at the 2012 London Olympics was tarnished by the behaviour of some members of the swim team, with the men’s 4x100m freestyle relay team drawing notoriety for their behaviour in a bonding session.

Officials have worked hard on developing the team culture and Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) president John Coates has already detected an improvement in the swimming team’s attitude at the Commonwealth Games.

“I drew from the attitude of the swimmers as much as the performance that they have turned for the better, that they are now a team again,” Coates told AAP.

“The culture is back in the team.”

He said Kitty Chiller, the Australian 2016 Olympic chef de Mission, had given more attention to the concept of team culture than had happened in the past.

“It’s something I’m trying to stress with this team that while top five is very important to us, so is that life-best experience and so is establishing a really good feeling of unity of Team Australia,” Chiller told AAP.

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“I think we’ve probably lost that a little bit in the last couple of Games and it’s important to get that back and for all our athletes, our young athletes especially, to remember, recognise and respect those champions of the past.

“That’s in the DNA of Australia’s Olympic history and that goes a long way to creating a strong team bond.

“When you get that strong team bond and strong unity of purpose, as a Team Australia, that helps those results.

“So there are other things other than money that can help create an environment for success.”

The AOC’s commitment to cultivating team spirit has already been noted and appreciated by the athletes, with not just the swimming team looking to improve in that area from London.

“We have a lot of traditions that we follow and it went a little bit astray at the (2012) Olympics, Australian Opals basketballer Liz Cambage told AAP.

“That’s something we’ve been focusing on, getting back to the old days and the old ways of the Opals.

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“I think it’s a good thing that team unity is something that the Olympic Committee is really focusing on.”

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