Australian swim great Tracey Wickham says Aussies must take ownership of Commonwealth Games pool

TRACEY Wickham has roused the hit-or-miss Aussie swimmers to “own our pool” by dominating England from opening night as the trigger for a home grown gold rush at the Commonwealth Games.

TRACEY Wickham has roused the hit-or-miss Aussie swimmers to “own our pool” by dominating England from Thursday’s opening night as the trigger for a home grown gold rush at the Commonwealth Games.

As ever, the straight-talking swimming great wasn’t interested in the official stance that all rivals are equal for tonight’s pulsating lift-off at the pool on the Gold Coast where Australia could start with a three-gold bang.

“Of course, the Poms are our main competition,” said Wickham, who relegated English girls to minor medals in her 400m and 800m freestyle triumphs at the 1982 edition in Brisbane.

“It was less PC from the coaches in my day when all our Aussie swimmers knew we had to beat the English.

“It’s the attitude you want to see... I own this pool, it’s our water.

“Harness that and we’ll see up-and-comers like Ariarne Titmus enjoying the pinnacle because there’s nothing like the buzz of having family and friends in the stands cheering you on at a home Games.”

Australian head swimming coach Jacco Verhaeren with Cate Campbell.

Olympic champion Mack Horton (400m freestyle), the Aussie duel between teenager Titmus and Emma McKeon (200m freestyle) and Cate Campbell’s regular freestyle relay saviours are all hotly favoured to deliver gold on Thursday night.

For Horton, it is a statement race.

The Victorian wonder who toppled the world at the 2016 Rio Olympics can put the men’s team on the map after the embarrassment of the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games.

Take out the two golds of Paralympian Matt Cowdrey and no Aussie male won an individual gold from 16 events in Melbourne. So much for home water... England 6, Australia 0. Owned.

It was a chastening moment and one of the first gaping holes to appear after Australia’s world-beating swimming era of the ‘90s and early 2000s rode on the mighty strokes of Ian Thorpe and co.

Swim team head coach Jacco Verhaeren is Dutch yet he understands the arch rival mentality from his own upbringing with Germany in that role.

“You always have an arch rival and for Australians it happens to be England which to me means healthy competition to drive better performances,” Verhaeren said.

“It’s got Australia to where it is in many sports.

“Do we want to beat them? For sure but that’s not underestimating what is coming towards us from South Africa, Canada and other countries.”

Australian swimming star Ariarne Titmus at a team training session.

It is equally a statement night for Verhaeren, who overhauled the flow of the whole Australian swimming calendar by copying the American system of condensing the trials and a feature meet just a month apart.

It wasn’t so much that Campbell, Cam McEvoy and Emily Seebohm, with ill health in the background, flopped in Rio where surprises Horton and Kyle Chalmers soared.

It was how few swimmers across the whole squad rose to new personal bests on the biggest stage from their highs at trials four months earlier.

The quick transition of meets has been ideal for the upbeat rebirth of Campbell, who has not had to idle with months of pressure. To see her carrying the Queen’s baton onto a Surfers Paradise beach stage on Tuesday and leading a throng of fans in “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie...oi! oi! oi!” speaks volumes about her free and freshened mind.

Originally published as Australian swim great Tracey Wickham says Aussies must take ownership of Commonwealth Games pool