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The Australian Olympic Committee has a simple message for its Rio hopefuls: Don’t be a drongo.
The 2016 Rio Games will be the first chance for the Australian team to redeem itself after the London Olympics was marred by a bonding session and use of the sleeping drug Stilnox by members of the swim team.
Conscious of what happened two years ago, the Australian Olympic Committee launched the `Ignite’ program on Thursday, which will help athletes understand what is expected from them, on and off the field.
Chef de Mission Kitty Chiller said public backlash after London in 2012 did not inspire the new mentoring program, instead it is a separate initiative to build an Olympic team Australians can be proud of.
“The focus is to create an environment, the best environment possible, to enable our athletes to achieve success,” Chiller told AAP.
“I can’t be out there making them run faster or swim faster, all we can do is to ensure all those other little bits around their performance are in place to help them achieve that success.”
In an effort to bring athletes together from the 27 sports Australia will compete in at Rio, the AOC will launch a social media app, to help athletes send messages of support to one another.
Legendary Australian swimming coach Laurie Lawrence told Olympic hopefuls that while preparing for the best is essential, it’s just as important to know how to cope with coming up short.
“It’s about being the best you can be. And giving you an opportunity to win,” Lawrence said.
“And if you get rolled, you shake their hands and say well done and go back home, into the room by yourself, and kick the shit out of your pillow.”
“You don’t have to like it, but you don’t show it in public.”