Paris Olympics 2024: Matty Johns and James Magnussen join forces on brand new podcast

On a brand new podcast taking you behind the scenes of Paris, dual Olympian James Magnussen tells Matty Johns the AOC’s decision to send athletes home after their event isn’t in the spirit of the Games.

Former world champion James Magnussen says Australia’s Olympic bosses have disrespected our swimmers as “hired guns” after booting them from the athletes village 48 hours after their final races.

Magnussen hit out at the Australian Olympic Committee ahead of a Paris competition where the nation’s swimmers could provide the lion’s share of any gold medals won in Paris.

The AOC enraged those swimmers when it told them they had only 48 hours to bask in any potential glory before leaving the village to fly home or rent their own accommodation in Paris.

Dual Olympian Magnussen told the first episode of the ‘Matty and the Missile’ podcast with Matty Johns he believes it shows a blatant disregard for what the swimmers sacrifice to deny them the ritual of celebrating post-competition.

“I can only speak from a swimmer’s perspective,” he told the podcast.

MATTY AND THE MISSILE: Matty Johns and James Magnussen join forces in Paris to take you inside the world’s greatest sporting event. Listen to their podcast below:

Matthew Johns and James Magnussen together on the Champs-Elysees for their new podcast “Matty and the Missile”. Picture: Adam Head

“It feels to me like this swim team are hired guns. You come in late, no opening ceremony, straight into the swimming, we expect seven to nine gold medals, you finish competing, off you go.

“No closing ceremony, no Olympic life, you can’t make the most of the food hall and eat the things you wish you could have. All those things that are the Olympic experience gone.”

He says the issue could come to a head if Australian golden girl Ariarne Titmus is able to achieve the 200m-400m double at a second successive Olympics.

Ariarne Titmus (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

“As soon as they finish competing they have 48 hours to be out of here,” he said.

“If they want on their own dime they can stay in Paris and on their own dime come back to Paris for the closing ceremony and there will be a bed for them for that night.

“I got to thinking, ‘If Titmus does what I think she will do, back to back Olympics, gold in the 200m and 400m, she has to be our (closing ceremony) flag bearer. I went along to swimming press conference.

“What (Australian chef de mission) Anna Meares has said is no special treatment, Ariarne will be out of the village. She won’t hedge her bets.

“If she is asked to carry the flag in the opening ceremony it is up to her to make her way back to the village and represent our nation carrying the flag.”

Originally published as Paris Olympics 2024: Matty Johns and James Magnussen join forces on brand new podcast