Remember London 2012 when the Australians swimmers won just one gold in the entire Oympics – the 4×100 freestyle women’s relay – and that was on the opening day?
For the rest of the meet, Australian swimmers won six silver, and three bronze with Alicia Coutts winning five of them with her relay gold, three silver, and a bronze.
With a day to go in the pool, the Australian swimmers have won 49 medals, almost meeting the overall team target of 55 medals.
Before Roarers knock the Commonwealth Games as seond rate and a thanks for coming award meet, Australians can only beat what opposition is available.
And they are doing that in droves.
James Magnussen and Cameron McEvoy are world class, so too Cate Campbell, her little sister Bronte, and the exciting 19-year-old newcomer Emma McKeon on her international debut.
The men and women’s 4×100 freestyle relay teams are world class, the girls broke the world record that was set by the Netherlands in the era of “super suits’
“I thought that record would stand for a decade, at least” was Cate Campbell’s predcition.
Sure, the opposition wasn’t as strong as world class, but the Australians couldn’t be better than recording the fastest time ever in any competition.
Next up, the Pan-Pacific Championships on the Gold Coast from August 21 to 24. and the best litmus test possible against the Americans.
I expect Magnussen and Cate Campbell to win their golds, proving an old adage that good, big competitors invariably beat good, smaller competitors.
The last five days have proved that point.
Magnussen at 197cm (6ft 6), beat arch rival McEvoy 185cm (6ft1), Cate 186cm (6ft 1) beat sister Bronte 179cm (5ft 10), and Emma McEvoy 178cm (5ft 10).
And last night at the track, the world’s greatest sprinter and defending Olympic champion Usain Bolt 196cm (6ft 5) from Jamaica has kept himself purely for the 4×100 relay..
It mattered not, compatriot Kemar Bailey-Cole at 193cm (6ft 4) stepped into the breach to power away with 100 track gold in 10s dead, over Englishman Adam Gemili 165cm (5ft 10).
Drawn side-by-side, Gemili stood “tall” level with Bailey-Coles’ teeth.
Gemili led by a metre at the 15m mark until Bailey-Coles’s long legs started to kick in, and he won by closer to two metres.
Prediction.
Bronte Campbell is fast bridging the gap that has always been evident against Cate, while the surprise packet Emma McKeon looks likely to down both within a year.
For mine, Emma is the find of the meet. Quiet as a mouse compared to the very outgoing Campbell sisters, Emma could well be the smiling assassin in the nicest possible meaning of the description.
But compare the Australian swimmers with their track and field cousins.
When the national sport funding is next allocated, there are two diametrically opposed possibilites.
Cut funding to track and field because they are a basket-case, or pump more funds into finding better talent.
I have no doubt the talent is there, but are they coached properly?
At last count there were over 100,000 kids from five to 16 in the Little Athletics movement, competing in 500 centres around Australia.
Don’t tell me there isn’t a minefield of hidden talent in 100,000 keen enough to compete on a regular basis?
While the swimmers win gold by the bullion-load, the last track and field gold medal winner was Cathy Freeman in the 400 flat at the Sydney 2000 Olympics.
That was 14 years ago.
Sally Pearson won the 100 hurdles in London 2012, but I class that as something of a field event, not pure track.
The time is right for an Australian track revival.
Me
Guest
One of my best friends is a swimmer and after we finished school last year he moved to a club in Sydney and works a part time job to support his swimming despite being an op 3 (from qld) student. He rents his own place with a few other swimmers. Ultimately if someone wants to do it bad enough they can find a way to make it work. There is only marginally more, if any more, opportunities in swimming than track and field. People that are capable and dedicated figure it out.
Griffo
Roar Guru
astro, I have to admit to doing a double take on that line - I will give David the benefit of the doubt that it was in some sort of jest. Because Thorpe (195cm) lost to van den Hoogenband (193cm) in 200m free final in 2000; van den Hoogenband beat Alexander Popov (197cm) in the 100m final. Michael Phelps is 'only' 193cm as well... Age, form, training peak, mentality and injuries are what I expect are a factor in swimming. Height isn't one of them. I will also say that we do seem to do rather better at the Commonwealth Games. Perhaps it is the opposition that is not there (which isn't giving credit to our swimmers or the others at the meet), but with Pan Pacs and the Commonwealth games close, Worlds next year...perhaps the Olympics are just not in the right spot on the 4-yearly cycle of the swimming calendar.
Magic Sponge
Guest
Problem is when you leave school it is very hard to pursue athletics in Australia. Unless you get an invite to the AIS
Colin N
Guest
Alia Atkinson of Jamaica won silver and bronze in the breaststroke and Vanderpool-Wallace won silver in the 50 fly.
Colin N
Guest
No wonder Australia did poorly in London with that ignorance.
nickoldschool
Roar Guru
Yep completely agree. She is special and very charismatic. beautiful athlete,
ak
Roar Guru
One Gold at Olympics is worth more than 100 at CWG
jameswm
Roar Guru
Anyone else check out Morgan Mitchell in the 400? Have to give a phwoar there. Hope she becomes really good - she could help athletics' profile in Australia.
Chris Kettlewell
Roar Guru
I saw a story this morning saying that Australia picked up a record medal haul in the pool. However when they showed the breakdown of Gold, Silver, Bronze since 1990 it showed that while the overall medal count was the highest ever at the CG's, it equalled Manchester 8 years ago as the equal lowest haul in the last 24 years. Both those two games we got 19 gold, every other games in the last 24 years Australia has scored more than 20 gold, with numerous times over 25 and a top around 27. As such, I don't know that you could really say based on that performance that Australia has bounced back from the London Olympics. At London a lot of races where Australia was hoping to win that person just missed out, pushed to a minor medal, and others who we'd hoped would medal might have just missed out, getting fourth or fifth. You could say that someone who's swum a world class time to win here may have just as likely won against any opposition in the world, but someone who's only getting minor medals here is probably struggling to make the top 5-6 in an Olympic strength field. So considering we won more gold in Delhi, the same in Manchester, and significantly more in the last handful of games prior to that, I don't know that you can point to the overall medal haul and suggest that there's necessarily anything we are doing better now than we were 2 years ago in London.
Pope Paul VII
Guest
Must say I've found it very entertaining though. Most hilarious was Australia's "It aint over 'til we win" victory over Wales in the Union. Aussie's keep it alive from try line to try line, which is tops but it's just crazy to allow play after the time has gone.
Hoy
Roar Guru
I have to say the media are the ones really pumping up the tyres of our swim team and other medal winners. That article posted by Bondy is the reality. We need to improve to get back to the glamour days of Australian olympic medal tallies... Otherwise we are in for a ruder shock than what we got in London.
Bondy
Guest
This makes for an interesting read : ( http://www.news.com.au/sport/commonwealth-games/usain-bolt-says-the-commonwealth-games-are-a-bit-st-is-he-right/story-fnnx3zsr-1227006996509) ...
astro
Guest
Never, in my life have I heard the "old adage that good, big competitors invariably beat good, smaller competitors" The last Australian Olympic gold medallist you mention in this article, David, measures a massive 5ft 5inches, so I'm glad she never listened to rubbish about an athletes height having anything to do with their ability.
Bondy
Guest
Did anybody see a black athlete/swimmer in the swimming pool ?. .
Bondy
Guest
Nearly everybody here unanimously agrees we've largely beaten ourselves in the pool with the odd trickle of medals going to some from England or Wales other than that theres dead set no genuine competition for Australia to compete against, we've beaten ourselves in the pool to confirm how great we are ?, most of those swimmers will get lapped at an Olympics . I'll stand corrected but noticing the audience in the swimming center appeared to be a largely Australian audience to, the local Scott's appear to be at the running, why do we care about swimming when other nations clearly dont ..
Pope Paul vii
Guest
Aus Swimming continues it's tradition of inconsisteny regarding relay selections. Coutts over Schlanger in 4 x 200m relay despite not being near her. Reminded me a bit of when Brooke Hanson outpointed Leisel Jones in the 100m breast at Athens 2004 only to be overlooked for the medly relay. Petria Thomas also was preferred to Sarah Ryan in the 4 x 100 relay a little bit surprisingly, at Athens.
Shouts Chen
Guest
Australia is a strong swimming team in the Commonwealth Games and has been leading the medal tally for many years.
James
Guest
Australia is a big fish in a small pond when it comes to swimming...literally. If Australia wants to win medals then they can either 1. focus of field events OR 2. start recruiting indigenous kids into middle and long distant running because a lot of these kids have natural builds that is suited to running and live in the outback that have similar climates of the East Africans( Kenyan and Ethiopians. The african and carribean nations have figured out thier strengths and stayed away from the pool,...why havent we done the same when it comes to athletics.
magila cutty
Guest
I seem to have posted the aame thing but in my defence when i began your post wasn't up. I'm just too slow i guess. cheers
magila cutty
Guest
Spot on James. The ONLY reason Australia does well in swimming is the general lack of competition. You're only really competing with about twenty or thirty countries as opposed to two hundred in running. For women it's even easier with less comp again. As to funding it seems to be the Australian way to back sports lacking in real competition over those that have. Sports requiring equipment are targeted in the pursuit of soft medals. Expensive equipment extends to swimming pools putting most nations at a disadvantage. Cultural differences also play a part in the "success" of the Australian women. A medal for the medley relay counts the same as the mens 100m(track) but should it? The whole world is a sprinter, everyone starts to try and run fast. Most of us are weeded out immediately but the remaining pool is still the largest in world sport. Competition! Swimming with its' multiple events should not get the same rating. Like phelps being rated alongside Bolt. What a joke.