Australian swimmers use Chinese controversy as motivation for Paris Olympic Games

Mack Horton did it in 2016, now this Australian swim team plan to use the motivation of controversy surrounding Chinese swimming as “fuel to the fire” for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

Flynn Southam reveals how fellow Australian swimmers felt about the Chinese revelations. Picture: Glenn Campbell

Australian swimmers will use the China doping scandal as “fuel to the fire” for the 2024 Paris Olympics, just as Mack Horton did eight years ago in his epic battle with Sun Yang.

Relay world champion Flynn Southam said the Dolphins had discussed among themselves during a relay camp on the Gold Coast this week how they each felt about revelations 23 Chinese athletes were cleared of positive tests due to contamination prior to the Tokyo Olympics.

WADA confirmed on Friday an independent body would investigate how the 2021 case was handled, a development which is sure to please athletes worldwide and restore some faith in a system that has many questioning the varying levels of scrutiny applied in different countries.

At the Rio Olympics Horton branded Chinese rival Sun a drug cheat on the way to an upset 400m freestyle gold medal, a feat that will inspire this Dolphins team to use their anger towards the latest doping claims in China as motivation for a gold in Paris.

Horton (centre) celebrates his Rio Olympic gold medal with Sun Yang of China (right, silver) and Gabriele Detti of Italy (left, bronze). Picture: AAP Image/Dean Lewins

“Yeah there were a few things going around, mainly just athletes talking with other athletes and comparing notes on how it made us feel,” said Southam.

“I guess it is fuel to the fire, but at the same time we are not going to get caught up in the narratives of anyone else.

“We are just there to do our job and our job is to do the best we can and capitalise on the support we get from the Australian public.

“There’s two sides to it, you’ve got to block it out because it is not in your control.

“But at the same time it is a bit infuriating when I give my address and my whereabouts every day for an hour a day to get drug tested from doping agencies and when something like that comes up it really makes you question why we are even doing that.

“I am all about clean sport, fair sport. I don’t think that cheating aligns with the ethics and morals of the Olympics.”

Gold Coast swimmer Flynn Southam. Picture: Glenn Campbell

Southam is a member of the 2023 world champion men’s 4x100m freestyle relay team that will fight with 2024 world champions China for the gold medal in Paris.

China shocked the world at Doha in February when teen Pan Zhanle shattered the individual world record with a 46.80s relay lead off on the way to team gold.

Southam said China’s emergence as a major threat in the 4x100m relay would not impact the tactics of Australia which has almost exclusively used their fastest man Kyle Chalmers as an anchor.

Australia’s world champion 4x100m freestyle relay team of Jack Cartwright, Kai Taylor, Flynn Southam and Kyle Chalmers. Picture: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

Instead the Australians are focused on handling the pressure of being world champions and trying to convert that success into the ultimate reward.

The relay camp after last week’s national title was about bonding as a team, working on changeovers and doing specific activities designed to help the athletes “get comfortable with being uncomfortable” ahead of the heightened pressure of the Olympics.

“The status of Olympic champs versus world champs, there is a big difference,” he said.

“For us we want to capitalise on the success the Australian swim team has had the past 12 months to three years pretty much.

“The job is not finished. The Olympics is the pinnacle of the sport and that is where we are all striving for, anything else outside of that it is good to stop and smell the roses sometimes, but Olympics is the goal.

The Australians know it could take a world record to win the gold in Paris.

“If you’re not striving for a world record or the fastest you can possibly go then you’re not in it to win it,” he said.

“For us we are just going to do the best we can and not worry about the outcome.

“The outcome will come from having a really solid process and trusting each other and being there and being professional.

“It’s the trust and chemistry we have with one another that is probably going to get us there and win us the gold.”

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Originally published as Australian swimmers use Chinese controversy as motivation for Paris Olympic Games