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This week saw the Australian swimming team obtain its best result at a swimming world championship since 2009 in a medal feat that accumulated to 13, including three gold.
That 2009 team contained the likes of Libby Trickett, Leisel Jones and Jessicah Schipper and was on a high after a strong performance at the 2008 Olympic Games, part of the golden generation of Australian swimming.
Yet the circumstances going into the FINA World Championships in Barcelona could not have been more contrasting for the once dominate Australian swimming team.
Coming of the back of a dismal performance in London in which they claimed only a sole gold medal and the subsequent resignation of the head coach and Swimming Australia president, the Australian swimming team had its backs to the wall with problems both in and outside of the pool.
Yet Australians sporting teams thrive in the label of the underdog and this swimming team latched to that title like a dog to a bone in Barcelona, putting past controversy behind them in a resounding performance.
It was led by James Magnussen, or ‘The Missile’, a label he created for himself before he agonisingly fell short of gold in London.
Yet in Barcelona his changed persona proved effective as he romped home over his rivals to retain his 100-metre freestyle world crown that he won back in 2011.
He will be looking to assert a further three years of dominance as the best sprinter in the world and claim revenge for his 2012 disappointment.
In a heart-warming sporting tale breaststroker Christian Sprenger claimed his maiden world title in the 100-metre breaststroke, building of his silver medal in London.
Adding a silver medal to his resume in the 50 metres, Australia will look to him along with Magnusson to provide the Australian team with strong leadership and experience as they begin to lie the foundation blocks for the Rio Olympics.
Yet undeniably the best story to come out of Barcelona was Cate Campbell, the 21-year-old who emerged on the scene as a freakish 16-year-old has finally developed that talent in success as the highest level.
Campbell won her maiden world title in the women’s 100m freestyle and backed it up with a silver medal in the 50-metre event and asserting herself as the new golden girl of the Australian swimming team.
Yet podium success was not the only highlight for Australia at the titles, with the next generation of youth providing the Australian a glimmering hope of what they might have to look forward to in the years leading up to Rio.
Teenager sensation Cameron McEvoy steamed onto the scene with a terrific fourth place in the 100m freestyle and his emergence will only add to Australia’s already strong stocks in the relay department.
Another Australian teenager Jordan Harrison promises to be Australia’s next long distance superstar, making the final in the 400, 800 and 1500m events with a highest placing of fifth in the 800-metre event.
Sister of golden girl Cate Campbell Bronte also showed potential by finishing sixth in the final of the 50-metres freestyle and will look to challenge her older sister’s supremacy in the coming years.
Australia will look these youthful talents, along with the likes of Thomas Fraser-Holmes to continue their rapid emergence heading into Rio.
What this indicates is that Australia has the perfect mixture of youth and experience to build a strong platform towards a successful campaign in Rio.
Sprenger, Magnussen and Campbell will be joined by Emily Seebohm, Belinda Hockey, and Alicia Coutts, all of whom claimed silver medals in Barcelona.
The championships have shown the Australian swimming team has enormous potential to claim multiple gold in Rio and provide a perfect platform for the Australia Olympic Commission’s aim of finishing top five in the overall medal tally.
Yet it remains crucial in the upcoming three years that lessons are learned from the disastrous London campaign and that the issues of the pool are dealt with effectively.
If this can be managed, Australian sports fans cannot help but gleam that swimming will yet again return to spearhead the Australian Olympic hopes heading towards Rio.
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