Jarrod Poort has come a long way in four years

JARROD Poort was allegedly bullied by some members of Australia’s swim team in London four years ago. Now, he’s making his sport “sexy”.

Rio Olympics Games 2016. Australian Marathon swimmer Jarrod Poort celebrating after his swim. He finished 20th place. RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil. Picture: Todd Balym

JARROD Poort didn’t win a medal in Rio, but he did win plenty of fans.

The Aussie open water swimmer finished 21st in the men’s 10km event on Wednesday morning (AEST), but for the first 9km it looked as if he might pull off a miracle and actually win a medal.

He went out all guns blazing at the start — a daring tactic in a long distance swim — and tried to hang on for dear life. It almost worked.

At the halfway point he led by more than a minute, but his frantic pace proved impossible to sustain and he was reeled in by the rest of the field in the final kilometre.

The Netherlands’ Ferry Weertman eventually won the race, with Poort 40 seconds back.

If those first 9km weren’t enough to endear him to Australian supporters, then his post-race words were.

“It’s a bummer you know, I used a lot of heart and a lot of balls,” Poort said.

Later he even wrote on Facebook: “My balls hurt, but my arms hurt more ... not sure what to ice first.”

He’s popular now, but that hasn’t always been the case. Four years ago in London he was swimming in the pool rather than the open water, specialising in the 1500m. He pipped current golden boy Mack Horton for a berth on the team, but failed to make the final.

Poort was lightning for the first 9km of his race.

News.com.au understands several members of the Australian swim team in London bullied him, allegedly for his weight, but he was a popular member of the squad outside those select few. We also understand those responsible for bullying him have since pulled their heads in.

It was also reported Poort was involved in an altercation with a team member at the pre-Games camp in Manchester, but that was later settled.

London was forgetful for so many reasons for our swimmers, not least of which was the “toxic” culture that ruined our medal hopes. Accusations of bullying and prescription drug use led to a wide ranging review of Australian swimming — the culture of which has been lauded as being much more positive in Rio.

It would appear Poort was a victim of that culture in England, but today was the day he showed Australia we have a star in the making.

Poort, from Wollongong — south of Sydney on the NSW coast — has always been an open water swimmer but just missed out on qualifying for London, leaving him to swim only the 1500m instead. But the roles were reversed this year and he found himself in the surf rather than the chlorinated pool at the Rio Aquatic Centre.

Poort did Australia proud.

His coach Ron McKeon — father of Olympic swimmer Emma — said his brave decision to fly out at the start of his latest race bodes well for the future.

“We knew that something needed to change, especially with an athlete like Jarrod. We know he has the courage to be doing it,” McKeon said.

“He put everything on the line then and it could potentially change the face of how that 10km is swum.

“We’re very excited for what he did and what his future could hold.

“We think we put the cat among the pigeons. The coaches out on the feeding pontoon were certainly, let’s say, motivating their athletes to get moving.

“He got so much respect out there. He could taste it and that will hold him in great stead going forward.

“He wants to see excitement about open water swimming. Jarrod Poort just made it a little bit more sexy. He could be the sex symbol of open water swimming.”