I can see it being a big problem in the future. I think we have lost the little guy mentality as we invest more into sport. 

They mentioned the timing of our trials as one thing to look at for swimming in terms of improvement. Surely someone has also floated the idea of sending some promising swimmers to college in the US?

Good post. The trouble is, I reckon, it's not possible to have a US college style system without deregulation of fees. The American system is only feasible because they take so much money off college students.

Also, even though the American college system of studying interstate and strong sporting competition is great, I'm not sure Australia has either the culture or the population to have that.

I agree that deregulation of fees is a scary prospect for various reasons (even if it improves the quality of the universities). I like the Nordic system, but I don't know if Australia has the kind of infrastructure to be able to have free tertiary education which is also high quality. Not sure. Great if Australia can have it, though.

Some already go there, but not the best, I don't think. The best seem to stay in Australia. And, frankly, I think that's the way to go. As you'll notice in Aussies Abroad, I'm the biggest proponent of talented sportspeople going overseas if it's the best way to do well. But I'm not sure it is for Australia with swimming.

Australia has the facilities and coaching quality to develop the best swimmers in the world. Australian swimmers can learn to be technically outstanding and become exceedingly athletic from developing in Australia.

Cam McEvoy swam the fasted hundred in history out of anybody not wearing a super-suit. Same with those Campbell sisters. Seebohm and Larkin both entered the Olympics the fastest in the world, or so I gather. Yet all of them were some way under their PBs. That's the problem. At the Olympics, you should be setting new PBs.

Why is this?

The issue is probably psychological. And that's where the US dominates. American athletes are used to the college culture of representing thousands of students from their college. There's a lot of pride and pressure in that atmosphere. They do this week in, week out for the NCAA. That's why their swimmers, basketballers, etc. are so mentally tough.

Australia has competitions, but not the same sporting culture. You don't get thousands of people packing out a swimming stadium in Australia. Not for the most part. Swimming is just swimming. Then, all of a sudden, it becomes massive during the Olympics when the country needs the swimmers to lift most of the weight of the nation's Olympic expectations.

So it's rather an unhealthy pressure.

As I say the issue is probably psychological. There may be other things. Maybe some of them were unwell. Maybe there's drama or some uneasiness among the Australian team which has spread. No idea.

I'd imagine the psychological aspect is a big part.

The good thing about Australia is, so far, the elite programmes can identify some world class swimmers and turn them into the fastest in the world. Very specialised. If our swimmers went to the States permanently, they might just be one of many and struggle. The strength of the college system is the law of averages. It means they're bound to produce enough world champions out of the thousands. We don't want Australian swimmers, who are picked as potential world champions, simply to be one of the thousands there.

In saying that, maybe if Aussie swimmers could go on some kind of semester long exchange (maybe year long exchange) where they represent a US college (and the right one with the right kind with the right training) and all the pressure and pride of those swimming meets, that might give them the mental toughness which may be lacking.

Comparatively speaking, I don't know that we are investing more in sport (at least not relative to the rest of the world).

With the swimming, I think the issue is that there's not too much pressure on the swimmers most of the time. Loads of people swim. But people watch AFL, rugby league, rugby union, cricket or football most of the year.

Then, all of a sudden, the swimmers are required to carry most of the weight of Australia's Olympic expectations.

I'm sure part of it is psychological but it also just feels like other nations' swimmers are just more prepared or ready come the Olympics. Every 4 years we hear about how well such and such swimmer has done in the few years leading up, be it winning world champs or being the swimmer with the fastest time in the last 12 months. Then come the Olympics so often they 'fail' to live up to the expectations set not just by the public but also by themselves I'd assume. Something to try and combat that could be the shifting of trials to closer to the Olympics like was mentioned this morning.

I'd probably agree that the pressure almost out of nowhere that the Olympics brings isn't healthy, but surely this is even more reason to look into sending our best and most promising to the US so that pressure doesn't become so hard to deal with come the Olympics.

the thing is

other than swimming and cycling, the olympics are a non-event for Australia in the second week in terms of getting a medal. Track and field, it comes in dribs and drabs in terms of Australians that excel in that? Its that part of the competition where the west indian nations (apparently they used to be quite good at cricket) come to the fore, but the Americans can still rumble with those boys

Another question, why cant people of an african origin swim? Granted there was Apartheid and Segregation in America, and that discouraged black people from swimming. You would have thought black athleticism could adapt to the pool? 

Sweeping generalisations are great.

Iirc, caucasoids(europeans, middle easterners etc) & Mongoloids(East and Central Asians)have bodies better suited to using upper body stength, something to do with being wider at the chest per ratio,which is why they dominate weight lifting, swimming etc.

Negroids(Sub saharan Africans) have longer limbs per ratio which is why they dominate events like running, particularly West Africans in short distance.

Something to that effect.

Cannot wait to see the outrage when Caster Semenya runs in the 800m. Will be almost as fun as the ridiculous hypocrisy from Americans complaining about Efimova and calling her a cheat constantly

7's coverage says live, but it's showing repeats, which it has done everyday for the first two hours, is there actuallg live events on?

Because swimming is, traditionally, rather a middle-class sport. It hasn't, traditionally, been part of the fabric of African(-American) culture. There's no reason African swimmers or African-American swimmers cannot do just as well as Caucasian American swimmers.

Also, because swimming is far more technical than most track and field events, pure athleticism isn't the be all and end all. This means that the advantages that Africans and people from the Caribbean have in track and field would not, necessarily, translate into advantages in swimming. That's not to say aths isn't technical. Nor am I saying that pure athletic ability doesn't play a huge part in success in swimming. Because it does. Just that racial background doesn't tend to give particularly great advantages in swimming. Advantages in swimming like height and arm length are less dependent on racial background.

African-American people can do just as well in highly technical sports as Caucasian people do. Witness Simone Biles winning the individual all-around event in gymnastics. Surely one of the most technically demanding things in all of sport.

Golf is all that's on atm, although Badminton is about to start.

Isnt she/he a transgender?
Or is the political correct world too sensitive to acknowledge that?

I think you make a good point. But Australia must be careful. Don't forget what you've got in the quest to make it better.

This time round, Cam McEvoy and the Campbell sisters effectively have world records (not in super-suits). That's from developing in Australia. Then, you can add Mack Horton, Mitch Larkin and Emily Seebohm as the fastest in the world for their events. Plus, the girl who swam the fly event. Kyle Chalmers and that Tamsin girl are also some of the best in the world given how young they are.


All that has happened while being coached and training in Australia. Not the United States. We have a more specialised system in Australia, I gather

There's a chance if they were sent to the States at a young age, they'd just disappear into the massive system there and not necessarily achieve those things. Is that a good outcome?

Not at all.

Australia's swimming issues do not tend to be core issues (unlike football, where I advise talented footballers go to Europe as young as possible). Australia's issues are to do with translating ability to results in the important events. This, as you point out, may well have its origins in potentially poor preparation. And the psychological aspect may play a part.

So Australia doesn't need fundamental alteration. It needs slight tweaking so that these swimmers swim PBs at the Olympics (while maintaining the quality of swimming that leads then there generating world records). Possibly a small amount of time in the States college system, once they're developed and already dominating, is the way to go. So we're talking about the those who are already winning the national titles in the open age categories and pushing for the fastest in the world going to college. And we're talking one or two semesters. That may give them the mental edge when push comes to shove in the Olympics

Not showing here in Perth, is it on there?

100m on now. Best event of the games imo.

Yeah watching it

Kim Brennan probably about to win gold.

Gold (y)

Takes us to 5th on the medal tally

Amazing from Brennan. Carried the weight of the entire rowing team on her back this Olympics and delivered.

That makes two former AFL footballers whose children have won gold medals in this games. Imagine how good we'd be at football if we could make real inroads against the fucking AFL

Spidercam looks great for football, but this shot they pulled in the swimming just as the subject enters turbo mode is just sublime:

the winner of the women's tennis is a gisela dulko replica

Shes from* puerto rico (sometimes seen as the 51st state, sometimes a place where they have poor immigrants to blame) 

Probably speaks more to the overbearing presence that the AFL has in Australian sports media that we get all these tangential mentions to that sport to begin with.

I remember when one of the Waugh brothers went with the Olyroos to the Beijing games as a mentor/coach, the Australian commentators had no idea why he was there when they spotted him in the opening ceremony, much less his link to football in general.

First ever gold for Puerto Rico, congrats.

South Korea able to get their 24 year old star Son Heung-min from in season Tottenham for their Olympic campaign, and where are we?

lol nvm they just conceded against the run of play to Honduras.

For the amount of cash, media hype and national attention these swimmers get, they are very lukewarm with their delivery of excellence.

If you don't deliver at the end, pay it all back. Every other - oops, I just ate my own poop... has to pay hecs