The surprise of Australia’s Rio swimming disappointments hardly needs labouring, though it seems increasingly likely we will adopt an American late trials model, come Tokyo.
Head coach Jacco Verhaeren is defiantly dismissive of any push for changes, but this is an understandable reflex since it might prematurely tilt blame at coaches. Coaches are nothing if not politicians as livelihoods are at stake. But the inevitable review to be imposed from above will certainly have the trials’ timing as its centrepiece.
Few coaches now show serious resistance to the idea.
There have been no other compelling reasons to swap our traditional April trials for a June one, but the seeming torpor of the Rio swim team (bar the odd exception) must hint at one or two red flags.
It’s a fair bet the juggernaut saturation of social and traditional media cycles drained the team over the long Olympics build-up.
Perhaps too many distracting narratives and profiles were taken on by members under an onslaught of favourable public anticipation.
In addition, the long pre-Olympics training block bookended an equally arduous trials build-up. Eight months of unleavened slog can flatten even the most durable campaigner.
Many swimmers must have felt like they’d been to the Olympics and back by the time their plane taxied into Rio. The American team, by contrast, barely had time to look in the mirror in the few up-beat weeks between Trials and touchdown.
Of course, there may be other negative factors specific to the Australian preparation to consider. One or two journalists dubbed “precious”, the protests by Chef de Mission Kitty Chiller that swimmers had been unnecessarily inconvenienced by early morning drug testing.
Was Cate Campbell expressing veiled frustration when she gave her last on-camera poolside cheerio to family supporters back home, citing the restraints of a social media blackout imposed during the Rio stay?
One wonders whether denying young team members this intrinsic part of their daily social interaction was wise. Conventional coaching wisdom on the eve of any important competition is to avoid radically changing routine.
Mack Horton’s calling out of adversary Sun Yang as a cheat will no doubt be canvassed. If so, Chiller’s prompt endorsement may also come under the microscope, notwithstanding widespread frustration with anti-doping efforts leading into the Games.
Was it wise last year for Swimming Australia to extend Verhaeren’s contract to Tokyo, when security of tenure is the traditional enemy of rigour? Why not wait until after Rio to keep him on his toes? Will any blame be sheeted home to Swimming Australia head John Bertrand, or does the buck stop poolside?
Finally, one wonders if higher profile team members might be granted some degree of adult exemption from the hot-house inclusiveness of team building exercises.
This might mean being excused from the unending imposition of pantomimes, soul-drumming, role playing, and mime contests touring teams are seemingly inundated by these days, ostensibly in the name of creating rounded individuals.
Surely if our best athletes had aspired to be well-rounded, they would have stayed on the couch eating chips or partying, instead of dragging themselves to the local pool their entire childhood.
This recent fixation with homogeneity seems counterintuitive to the development of winners under pressure.
Swampy
Guest
I feel we might be acting a little like the British Empire trying to reclaim past glories and ignoring the fact we are no longer the world super power while the money is getting sucked up by the Dukes and Earls rather than feeding the armies. There would certainly be better use of tax payer & sponsor dollars than paying the 100's of officials we seem to allocate monies to that might otherwise be directed towards the grass roots development.
Republican
Guest
Another factor not often considered in our steady decline as a Swimming nation is cultural. While this is a sport that has long been quintessential to and synonymous with Australian way of life, this may no longer be the case. I am interested more in the grass roots of the sport and how that can be reinvigorated and made more accessible to young people in an era where the diversity of choice is rendering traditional sporting disciplines in this country i.e.Swimming, niche. Tennis went down this road years back however its profile remains high in Australia, while Swimming is close to replicating Tennis in respect of national accolades I don't get a sense that it is attracting enough interest at the GR. Perhaps we need to look at initiatives i.e. making Swimming a compulsory and integral component of the sporting curriculum in our public education system, as it remains a way of life for so many during our long hot summer months and yet, so many can't swim to save themselves.
Republican
Guest
Another factor not often considered in our steady slide as a Swimming nation is cultural. While this is a sport that has long been quintessential to and synonymous with Australian way of life, this may no longer be the case. I am interested more in the grass roots of the sport and how that can be reinvigorated and made more accessible to young people in an era where the diversity of choice is rendering traditional sporting disciplines in this country i.e.Swimming, niche. Tennis went down this road years back however its profile remains high in Australia, while Swimming is close to replicating Tennis in respect of national accolades I don't get a sense that it is attracting enough interest at the GR. Perhaps we need to look at initiatives i.e. making Swimming a compulsory and integral component of the sporting curriculum in our public education system, as it remains a way of life for so many during our long hot summer months and yet, so many can't swim to save themselves.
JohnB
Guest
I'd be interested in Brad's opinion on the head coach's call for a 4 year cycle. This hardly seems like the first Olympics where Australia has gone in on the back of strong world championship performances the previous year, only for a number of highly rated swimmers to come right back to the field when it really matters.
Hoy
Roar Guru
I don't know why, but we seem down from previous heights that is for sure... but maybe our expectations are so much higher because of those previous heights? Funding? Everyone else has increased funding, and we have stagnated or decreased? Coaches? I know a lot of Aus coaches are offshore now teaching other countries... The swimming is normally our cash cow, but our results have not been as good as everyone hoped in the last two games...
BrainsTrust
Guest
DId the Campbell sisters really fail to perform? Look at 4 x 100m womens relay splits. Cate Campell 51.97 Bronte Campbell 52.15 If you consider they would have been conservative on the change overs since they were clear favourites. So early in the meet they did perform and that would have been good enough even factoring the start to win the 100m Obviously Cate Cambpell did stuff up the 100m but Bronte didn't. The final relay swim by Cate Campbell was 52.17 and there would have been real desperation on the change over as they were sixth.
BrainsTrust
Guest
What went wrong was very clear but no one seems to want to take notice. The Olympic village had only 12 buildings that passed safety inspections before the Olympics. I doubt those safety inspections were even that good, so there must have been ones in shocking conditions. We know as reported in the media the British got 1 of those 12, they boasted about it. By the frequency of media complaints the US would have got the best on offer. They would have been pressuring the Brazilians to make sure they got the best. The Australians got the worst of the worst with leaking gas, so their performance went down the longer they stayed there. Gas can be at levels to cause health problems without anyone noticing. We know there were widespread reports of gas smells. Kim Brennan was not staying at the village so she was not affected. We have let a dodgy apartment building derail the whole Olympic effort.
sheek
Roar Guru
Brad, Excellent article from a former Olympic swimming gold medallist. Excellent insight.
Brendon
Guest
Social media was scapegoated in 2012. Its not like young Australian swimmers are the only Olympians using social media. Even though I've been using the internet longer than most of the swimmers on the team have been alive, I don't even have a facebook account or twitter/instagram etc but I'm in my late 30's. I'm not that stupid to realise that kids in their early 20's are of a different generation with different ideas and needs. 40+ year old coaches who don't understand social media enforcing their rules on kids won't work. Problem with 2012 failures was that Swimming Australia went for the easy targets and short term fixes. "Toxic culture" and "social media" were to blame. The behaviour of the 2012 team wasn't a good look (but hardly that bad by AFL/NRL standards) but it wasn't the cause of so few gold medals. The problems of the 2012 team was the same problems of the 2016 team. Swimmers who aren't mentally tough enough to win. With Cate Campbell admitting she choked and Cam McEvoy saying pressure got to him is a start.