Australian sports bosses tell Olympic athletes to expect the unexpected in Brazil

AUSTRALIA’S sports chiefs are labelling the Rio Olympics the “Harden Up” Games.

Australian Olympic athletes (L-R) Holly Lincoln-Smith – Water Polo, Morgan Mitchell – Athletics (400m), Adam Gibson – Mens Basketball, Madison Wilson – Swimming, Sally Pearson – Athletics (Hurdles), Brooke Stratton - Athletics (Long Jump), Kyle Chalmers – Swimming and Stephanie Talbot – Womens Basketball, pose for photos by Sydney Harbour at a media launch to unveil the official uniforms to be worn by the Australian Olympic team during the 2016 Games, on April 19, 2016. The Rio Olympics will be held from August 5-21, 2016. / AFP PHOTO / PETER PARKS

AUSTRALIA’S sports chiefs are labelling the Rio Olympics the “Harden Up” Games.

And the head coaches of the national basketball teams, the Boomers and Opals, say they plan to thrive in Rio’s expected adversity.

Australian chef de mission Kitty Chiller has warned the leaders of our Olympic sports to expect the unexpected at the Games in August.

Those distractions could ­relate to water quality, security, transport issues, illness or even the state of the Olympic village.

Former Olympic modern pentathlete Chiller said if Australia’s well-travelled competitors could withstand those distractions, it could be a key advantage.

“In my first Campaign Rio forum I told our leaders and coaches this is going to be a tough Games,’’ Chiller said.

“It will be a foreign environment to us. We need to cope with those challenges better than anyone else and turn them into opportunities.

“Without being romantic about it, Australians are better at doing that than Europeans who aren’t used to travelling and coping with difficult circumstances.”

Opals coach Brendan Joyce said on Tuesday he was on board with that message from ­Chiller.

“We have even brought in a sports psychologist to talk about developing resilience and preparing us for distractions that could occur,’’ he said.

“Sometimes your bus isn’t on time or doesn’t arrive. Little things like that can distract players. There will be challenges.

“Kitty has been a super ­athlete and you don’t play sport for a long time without developing resilience. Harden up is a good expression for it.”

Boomers coach Andrej ­Lemanis echoed Chiller’s theme, determined not to let his team become distracted.

“That is one of the things that has held us in good stead over the years — the toughness and grit Australian teams bring to competition,’’ he said.

“As (for) the other teams, what happens when you play Australia (is) you are in for a war. Internally as a group we spend a lot of time talking about being adaptable.

“We are able to change with conditions and not get too fussed. If a bus is late, it’s late. If a plane is late, no problems.

“We will just deal with what’s in front of us and that will hold us in good stead.”

Opals star Penny Taylor said the natural demeanour of most Australian athletes would help them cope with Rio’s challenges.

“I think Australians are pretty cruisy and that’s an ­advantage in international play,” she said.

“Those tournaments are quite demanding. We can handle adversity and part of our focus is to make sure, no matter what happens, we put a good product out there.”

Originally published as Australian sports bosses tell Olympic athletes to expect the unexpected in Brazil