Dolphins head coach Rohan Taylor addresses Swimming Australia’s cultural crisis
National head swim coach Rohan Taylor has broken his silence in the wake of an independent review that lifted a lid on female swimmers being subjected to abuse.
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National head coach Rohan Taylor has addressed claims Australian swimming is gripped by a culture crisis following explosive revelations female athletes suffered shocking abuse in the sport.
Taylor has spoken out in the wake of an independent review that lifted a lid on female swimmers being subjected to alleged physical and mental abuse, body shaming, groping and sexual innuendo.
Titled ‘Beneath the Surface: The experiences of women and girls in swimming’, the 114-page review was compiled following interviews with 158 participants over a five-year period from 2016-21.
Part of that period overlapped with the installation of Taylor, who was appointed head coach of the Dolphins in June 2020.
Within a fortnight of his appointment, Taylor vowed to eradicate any notion of sexism in swimming after Rio Olympian Maddie Groves claimed “misogynistic perverts” existed in the sport.
Taylor presided over the Dolphins’ record-breaking Tokyo Olympics campaign the following year – they won 21 medals, including nine gold – and he hit back at suggestions Australian swimming’s culture is toxic.
“My only comment on that (report) is that it’s disappointing,” he said.
“It was a report that was done anonymously and then it was put out there.
“From my perspective, I can only speak to the athletes I work with on the team. They have a very good athlete leadership group we work with and they would speak up if they didn’t feel safe.
“I want to leave it at that.”
Pressed on the disturbing contents of the report, exclusively obtained by this masthead, Taylor expressed his dismay at the information becoming available for public consumption.
“The integrity of it (the report) was done for people to be able to come forward and speak and it’s been leaked,” he said.
“The board is the one … you asked me the question … people were brought forward to be able to speak their mind and then it was to be acted on.
“And what’s been acted on in the last few years by the sport has been exceptional.
“I fully support it all the way through.”
The Dolphins have had formidable success under the Taylor regime, headlined by Kaylee McKeown breaking two world records in 24 hours at the World Cup at Budapest last weekend.
The 22-year-old shapes as a superstar of the upcoming Paris Games and Taylor said her dominance demonstrated the culture of hard work at the heart of the Dolphins’ Olympic build-up.
“Kaylee is a similar example to Chelsea (Gubecka, Australia’s first selected Olympian for Paris),” Taylor said.
“She is young, but she trains consistently well and you can see Chelsea’s rewards in making the Paris team are done over a long period of time and it’s due to a hard work ethic.
“These athletes all do the same thing. They have a good attitude and apply themselves well.
“We have a great group of coaches and athletes that work extremely hard and what you saw in Fukuoka (world championships in July) is an example of that.
“We have a great group of talent.”
Asked if McKeown’s feats have put Australia’s swimming rivals on notice, Taylor said: “They are aware of us.
“There’s no surprises. Australia is here. We’re a small nation of 25 million people, we’re a small population and we like to compete, so every time we go to competition, nations know we are there, but they are just as competitive and want to do just as well as us.
“We unearthed some good talent there.
“I can’t predict what will happen in Paris. I know what we will want to do. We will do as well as we can and there’s other countries who want to do that as well.
“We are a small country and we do a good job in all sports in getting on the international stage and performing.
“Swimming is no exception and I put it down to the hard work of the athletes and the coaches and my role is to support them and we will do that.”
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