Swimming Australia reappoints Rohan Taylor through to 2028 Los Angeles Olympics

The mastermind behind Australia’s efforts in the pool at Paris and Tokyo has been locked in until 2028, while other key pillars to drive the Dolphin’s medal hopes are also falling into place.

The unassuming mastermind behind the Dolphins’ inspiring success at the past two Olympics, Rohan Taylor has been reappointed as head coach of Australia’s swim team through to the 2028 Los Angeles Games.

Initially promoted to the role on a 12-month trial after Jacco Verhaeren quit and returned to Europe when the 2020 Tokyo Olympics were postponed because of Covid, Taylor has quickly established himself as Australia’s most successful head coach.

Under his guidance, the star-studded Aussie team won a record nine gold medals at the delayed Tokyo Games, finished top of the medals table at the 2023 world championships, then collected another seven gold medals at this year’s Paris Olympics.

“For me to get the opportunity to continue in this role is really a privilege,” Taylor told this masthead.

“The opportunity in front of us, which is a challenge, is to continue to develop world class coaches which then leads to developing an environment for our world class athletes to perform.

“We’ve just got to keep our foot on the pedal and keep doing what we do best.”

Australian head coach Rohan Taylor. Pic: Michael Klein

While his four-extension through to LA won’t come as a major surprise, securing the 56-year-old Taylor’s signature was a key plank in Swimming Australia CEO Rob Woodhouse’s goal to build a coaching team that’s the envy of the world.

As well as extending Taylor’s contract, Swimming Australia have also locked in a number of other key appointments after Woodhouse pulled off a massive coup by poaching British super-coach Mel Marshall, who oversaw the rise of Adam Peaty as the world’s greatest breaststroker.

Marshall has replaced Michael Bohl on the Gold Coast after he decided to take a break, possibly leading to retirement.

Mel Tantrum, Australian swimming’s first senior female head coach, will now take charge of the Paralympic swim team’s preparation for LA after she oversaw the open water swim team in Paris. Brazilian Fernando Possenti will be the new coach of the open water program.

And the highly respected Simon Cusack, who trained Cate and Bronte Campbell from kids to Olympic gold medallists, has been appointed national youth coach, with one eye on 2028 and another on Brisbane 2032.

“We’re really heavily invested in pathways and unearthing new talent now for LA,” Taylor said.

“We know that in swimming, athletes can come through pretty quickly so you’re going to see some athletes come through for LA.

“But we know that athletes now do multiple Olympic Games so the talent that we can unearth is about getting to LA, getting that experience and exposure and then carrying that through to Brisbane.”

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Despite the team’s stunning achievements at the past two Olympics, Taylor is under no illusions about the enormous challenges LA presents to a Dolphins squad now with a big target on its back.

As the host-nation, the United States has already begun doubling down on its development programs for 2028 while China, Canada and France are looking to building stronger teams to support their Paris breakout stars, such as Pan Zhanle, Summer McIntosh and Leon Marchand.

“The world is moving forward so it’s about the challenge of staying in front,” Taylor said.

“But we love a challenge. We love the opportunity to go up against the best, whoever they are, and embrace it.

Legendary Aussie coach Michael Bohl has stepped down from the pool deck after a distinguished career. Picture: Adam Head

“We’ve had a relentless short three year cycle from Tokyo to Paris so there’s a lot of fatigue and while we will be building some depth, we’re also taking care of our top athletes to make sure they can recover and get ready because we’ll need all our big hitters in LA.

“LA looms as a really big challenge for us but it’s also a really big opportunity. And then beyond that is Brisbane.”

Originally published as Swimming Australia reappoints Rohan Taylor through to 2028 Los Angeles Olympics