Australian rights for the swimming world titles remain unsold

Australians could miss out on the chance of watching one of the best swimming teams we’ve produced in years because the sport’s governing body hasn’t been able to sell the television rights.

Kyle Chalmers will be gunning for gold at the World Championships. Picture: AAP Image/Darren England

• Pool’s favourite sister act torn apart
• Aussie superfish’s blistering warning

Australians could miss out on the chance of watching one of the best swimming teams we’ve produced in years because the sport’s governing body hasn’t been able to sell the television rights.

With just five weeks to go before events get underway in Gwangju, South Korea, still no Australian broadcaster has purchased the rights.

The Sunday Telegraph understands the stumbling block is the high fees FINA is demanding, though neither Swimming Australia or its broadcast partner, Channel 7, would comment on the asking price or negotiations.

Chalmers produced some scintillating displays in Brisbane. Pictures: AAP Image/Darren England

Unless a late agreement is reached, Australians won’t be able to see the world championships unless they subscribe to FINA’s own online streaming service.

It’s the ultimate kick in the teeth for Australia’s swimmers, who have resurfaced from the disappointment of the London and Rio Olympics to build a super squad filled with proven champions and emerging superstars.

Last week’s Australian trials in Brisbane produced some of the closest and fastest racing seen in years, which is great news for Australia’s prospects at next month’s world championships in South Korea and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Cate Campbell is one of Australia’s few high profile swimmers. Picture: AAP Image/Darren England

But the problem was hardly anyone knows what just happened because the trials weren’t shown on Australian TV, only through internet streaming services.

So the stunning performances from Kyle Chalmers, Emma McKeon, Cate and Bronte Campbell all went unnoticed by the Australian public. So too did the feats of the next wave of budding superstars, Ariarne Titmus, Jack McLoughlin, Kaylee McKeown and Minna Atherton.

Like a lot of Olympians, swimmers are desperately struggling to make ends meet and surviving on minimum wage, so this is a critical juncture for the sport

Ariarne Titmus has emerged as one of the world’s leading swimmers. Picture: AAP Image/Darren England

Elite swimmers have long been battling with FINA for a bigger share of its enormous fortune while the federal government has slashed funding levels to high-performance sports so Australia has been tumbling down the medals table at each Olympics.

Right now, at least on paper, we finally have a swimming team that could change all that but no-one is watching.

On the latest rankings, Australia’s swimmers would win 18 medals in Gwangju, making it the most successful world championships since Ian Thorpe scooped up six gold medals by himself at Fukuoka in 2001.

Susie O’Neill and Ian Thorpe were two of Australia’s biggest sports stars of the 90s and early 2000s. Picture: Brett Costello

That was in the days when generations of Australians grew up watching swimming on prime-time television, even if only for one week a year including Ray Warren’s race calls and Nicole Livingston’s pool deck interviews.

It was an era when Thorpe, Susie O’Neill, Kieren Perkins, Grant Hackett, Libby Trickett, Leisel Jones and all the other gold medal winners were household names, so it’s sad to see the sport disappearing from Australian television screens.

Originally published as Australian rights for the swimming world titles remain unsold