Swimming news: USA offer $1 million bonus to beat Australians at 2024 Paris Olympics
USA Swimming has gone all out to incentivise their swimmers at the 2024 Paris Olympics, in the hopes of taking down Australia’s champion female swimmers.
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Australia’s champion female swimmers have had a million dollar bounty placed on their heads for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Still peeved at being continually whipped by Australia’s golden girls, USA Swimming has dramatically raised the stakes by offering an eye watering US$1 million (A$1.5 million) incentive bonus to the American team.
To scoop the jackpot, the Americans will have to win all seven swimming relays — three for men, three for women and one mixed - at the next Olympics, with smaller consolation prizes available if they win seven relay medals of any colour at either the Olympics or this year’s world championships in Japan.
“This is an unprecedented incentive program with the ultimate goal of extraordinary relay success,” USA Swimming National Team Managing Director Lindsay Mintenko said.
“While many might see swimming as an individual sport, we at USA Swimming know that a team focus is the very core of our success. We have a proud tradition in Olympic and World Championship relays, and we hope to foster that culture and camaraderie in the next wave of athletes.”
Although they were careful not to mention the Australians by name for fear of poking the bear, subtlety is not a common American trait.
The Americans have never been shy about talking up their own prospects, even though there have been times when their bluster has backfired and they ended up with eg on their faces.
It happened at the Sydney 2000 Olympics when chest-thumping sprinter Gary Hall Jnr boldly predicted the Americas would smash the Aussies ‘like guitars’ only for him to get owed down by Ian Thorpe in a famous upset.
No-one will be surprised that the massive cash bonus from USA Swimming is targeting the underpaid Dolphins, who get paid a relative pittance despite their phenomenal success in the pool.
With the American men already the dominant force in men’s swimming, their biggest hurdle to claiming the whole pot of money are Australia’s super female sprinters - who have won the gold medal in the 4x100m freestyle at the last three Olympics and last two world championships.
The Aussies also beat the US in the women’s medley relay at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and hold the world record for the 4x200m freestyle, which they set at last year’s Commonwealth Games, and are showing no sign of giving up their crown.
If anything, the Aussies are stronger than ever since the emergence of a wave of new stars including Mollie O’Callaghan, Meg Harris and Lani Pallister teaming with the likes of Emma McKeon, Ariarne Titmus, Kaylee McKeown, Madi Wilson, Shayna Jack, Cate Campbell and her sister Bronte.
And although they won’t get to share in the riches, they now have an added reason to stay on top.
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Originally published as Swimming news: USA offer $1 million bonus to beat Australians at 2024 Paris Olympics
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