With four gold medals in the last three nights, the London Olympics are starting to not look so bad for Australia. But what struck me as I watched Sally Pearson become our latest golden girl in a night of Aussie glory, is the stark contrast in treatment between our track athletes and swimmers.
When Steve Solomon finished last in the mens’ 400m final, he was ecstatic and no one asked him if he was disappointed or felt he had fallen short.
Yet, almost all of our swimmers were subjected to that line of questioning, regardless of event or ability.
Swimmers weren’t alone, with long jump silver medallist Mitchell Watt airing his frustration over similar questions that were put to him.
A lot of our swimmers have been unfairly targeted for letting Australia down if they failed to win a medal, often in events where they did not have a legitimate chance.
Deep down, I believe most of the country knew that our chances were slim in many of these events, but few expected to have such a painful first Olympic week.
The discussion in the ensuing days has been on the swimming team’s failure to grasp gold (or silver or bronze in some cases), but I don’t think that’s really what the problem is.
Australians did have unrealistic expectations coming into London, based on our extraordinary hauls in previous Olympics.
Our swimmers always bear an extra load at any major event, but this time our young, inexperienced squad simply crumbled under the burning spotlight.
Under the weight of unrealistic expectation, they could not even reach their own reasonable aspirations.
And that is where I think that much of the disappointment lies, from knowing that many of our swimmers actually could have swum faster.
I lost count of the number of times I heard or read that an Australian swimmer had missed their PB by a long way or failed to replicate the time they swam at the Australian trials.
And this was part of what separated us from other nations, both traditional powerhouses like the US and emerging superstars like China’s Ye Shiwen.
Our swimming team is still reasonably young and less than a handful of realistic chances for gold were available to them.
However, even inexperienced athletes would be aiming to swim at least close to their best in any big meet, particularly the Olympics.
Back at Olympic Stadium on the other hand, Solomon ran two PBs in as many races and was close to a third in the final.
He definitely did not have anywhere near as much pressure as the swimming team, but he did what athletes aim to do in big meets.
Success or failure should not be centred around number of times you hear ‘Advance Australia Fair’ in a fortnight.
Rather, we should be focused on how close our athletes are to their best on the day.
The real question that needs to be asked is not why our swimmers did not win medals, but why they consistently came up short against their own performances?
Why did our swimmers fail to match-up to their own benchmarks, separate to that of the medal dais, set only months ago?
Their times prove that they’re up to it physically, but something isn’t clicking psychologically.
We need to reign in our expectations, but regardless of age or experience, every athlete should be peaking at the Olympics. If they’re not, it’s okay to ask why.
Scotty in South Devon
Guest
The sailing team have done brilliantly well, and there is more to come from them in the coming years - yet they don't seem to be a bunch of big heads and galahs. Maybe its because I'm biased being a former Laser guy myself, and from Gosford, but the sailors were in pressure situations and most times came up with the goods. Today the Mens 470 just about sailed a perfect race in conditions that don't suit them with the Brits breathing down thier neck, and won well. As you say, if people are not doing PBs in the Olympics or very close them, something is drastically wrong.
Colin N
Guest
Watt didn't go in as number one in the world which makes the criticism of him bizarre.
The Barry
Roar Guru
The swimmers in particular are exceedingly arrogant. When you make public comments like Magnussen did if it comes off you look like a hero, if it doesn't then you put yourself in the firing line. I note that Magnussen is now blaming all of this on the media and hasn't accedpted any responsibility along the lines of "maybe I should have pulled my head in a bit". This doesn't auger well for the future. It is 100% about expectation. Magnussen et al set our expectations high and they didn't deliver hence questions being asked. Magnussen was happy to use the media as his personal PR machine - well that's not what they're there for. Solomon wasn't expected to get anywhere near the final so making it far exceeded expectations, was exciting and we were all happy for him. The title of this article 'success is not all about medals is ludicrous'. Look at the medal tally. It's not just about medals, it's about gold medals. One gold medal outranks 100 silvers. The hundreds of millions of dollars of public money that gets poured into Olympic sports comes with a price and the price is success and gold, If athletes are happy to go and just be part of it all - that's fine but don't take the public funding.
k77sujith
Guest
Good point Nick :)
Nick Jungfer
Roar Guru
If only Aussies got as fired up about things in the real world as they do with the Olympics.
chivasdude
Guest
I did not necessarily see any different treatment from the media towards different athletes. You cannot compare their" treatment" of Solomon, to those of some of the swimmers. Solomon is a youngster clearly sent for development reasons, and who rewarded the faith of selectors by running PBs and making the 400m final (which we had not done since Darren Clarke). Great performance. It would not have been appropriate for the media to suggest that he should have been disappointed running last in the Final - and they did not. On the other hand, it is appropriate for the media to ask athletes, if they had performed below their best, reasons why they did not. My view is that this was the main thrust of their questions to athletes. I think it is clear that many swimmers swam below their best. Mitchell Watt, irrespective of wining silver, jumped well below his best too, so it is legitimate to ask him why. I agree that it should not be (all) about medals. Meeting your PB or close to it should be the goal and that is what we should all want for our athletes. After all, every event is competitive.
matt h
Guest
When the athletes underperform against their PB's that is when the questions get asked. Solomon rain big PB's just to make it to the final.
k77sujith
Guest
Hi BTN.. you raise a good point. I think in Solomon's case, he was a relative unkown and therefore, he exceeded expectations of the Aus public while the same cannot be said of the swimmers who are stars in their own right. So, expectedly, expectations soar from all quarters.Like they say...desire leads to destruction. Moreover, the media gave them all the hype and to add to it, some of the swimmers had a lot to say as well before the Games. Yes, they didn't click when it mattered and while the nation hurts, this could be just the right wake-up call for the swimmers and the way things are run. Just my thoughts. Thanks.
The (not so) Special One
Guest
It's not the swimmers who were never a chance who are being asked the questions - it's Magnussen, the mens 4x100 relay, where all of the them (bar Sullivan) were below par, Watt. It has something to do with going in to an event ranked number 1 in the world (eg. Magnussen, Watt, Seebohm etc) and then not posting a time or distance as good as what got you your ranking. Solomon improved his personal best in every round. Pearson went in as favourite and won. Showed she has it between the ears as well as in the legs, as opposed to a number of the swimmers who were so far off personal bests set only a couple of months ago that it was laughable.