ADELAIDE (AUSTRALIA) - Australian swimming has
its mojo back, coach Jacco Verhaeren says, with current form indicating
they are on track for a host of gold medals at the Rio Olympics.
Kyle Chalmers (L) and Australian swimming coach Jacco
Verhaeren attend a press conference on the final day of the national
Olympic swimming trials in Adelaide, on April 14, 2016
A 34-strong team was announced on Thursday evening after the
completion of the eight-day Australian Championships in Adelaide, with
several ranked world number one on current form.
"It's one of the stronger international teams I've seen,
definitely," said Verhaeren, best known for guiding Dutch greats Pieter
van den Hoogenband and Inge de Bruijn to Olympic success at the Sydney
and Athens Games.
"I think swimming has got its mojo back which is a great thing and where it should be in Australia."
A strong showing in Rio would be a major turnaround for the
Australian swim team, which produced just one gold at the 2012 London
Olympics in a campaign marred by ill-discipline, drug use and
drunkenness.
Verhaeren is credited with restoring stability and moulding a
squad of driven, clean-living athletes determined to make amends for
the London flop.
The team is headed by Cameron McEvoy and Cate Campbell, who both dominated the sprints at the Adelaide meet.
McEvoy claimed the first-ever sprint treble at an Australian
swimming championships in the 50, 100 and 200m freestyle, while
Campbell narrowly beat younger sister Bronte in both the 50m and 100m
events with sizzling times.
Backstroke world champions Emily Seebohm and Mitch Larkin
are also heading to Brazil, as is Mack Horton, who swam Australia's
second-fastest 1500m time ever behind former world record-holder Grant
Hackett.
Rising freestyle star Emma McKeon and her brother David will
become the first sister-brother combination to swim for Australia at an
Olympics since John and Ilsa Konrads at Rome in 1960.
When told their trial form indicated the Australian team was
on track to claim plenty of gold at Rio, Verhaeren said: "That would be
fantastic wouldn't it?"
But he cautioned that rankings often meant little when it came to the Olympics.
"We're in a sport where decisions on gold, silver or bronze
are made on sometimes one one-hundredth of a second, to a few tenths,"
he said.
"I'll stick to no predictions, but this week has definitely
shown we're competitive on the international stage and that's good
looking forward."
Australia's arch pool rival, the United States, is yet to hold its
selection trials, which are certain to shake up the world rankings
before Rio.
Verhaeren said his job now was to "keep everyone relaxed and make sure they do the job".
"We will never talk about medals or records," he said.
"We will keep them in the process of doing things right. I think it is good to have fate in your own hands."
Post a Comment