Respect the watchword for in form Australian swim squad for Rio Olympics after 2012 debacle

AUSTRALIA’S swim team will have the rock star treatment without the rock star behaviour when they arrive in Rio via a $300,000 private charter 737 jet on Sunday.

Cate Campbell insists much has changed in Australian swimming in the last four years.

AUSTRALIA’S swim team will have the rock star treatment without the rock star behaviour when they arrive at the Rio Olympics via a $300,000 private charter 737 jet on Sunday evening.

As the Dolphins take their perfect preparation mantra to the point of paying for their own exclusive travel from Atlanta to Rio with the help of a secret benefactor, the swimmers themselves hit out at repeated questioning about the team’s culture since their infamous “toxic” London Olympic Games four years ago.

Led by team leader Cate Campbell, who labelled questions over their behaviour four years after the fact “disrespectful” to the current Dolphins team, the Australians were adamant this team was one that would win universal respect.

Built upon their framework of “respectful, professional and enjoyable” this team has turned around every facet of their being to become a team capable of returning Australia to the No. 1 world ranking at these Olympics.

“I think you cannot compare where we are now to where we were in 2012 and I think it’s unfair and disrespectful to the athletes on this team to be constantly bringing up something that happened in 2012 and most of them were not a part of it,” Campbell said.

“I had a great 2012 and I can look back on that with pride and I think that it’s not just the athletes that have changed, it’s the organisation.

“We have opened channels of communication, and it has been a great and liberating process to be a part of and I think we can very well and truly put this matter to rest.”

Backstroker Belinda Hocking said the team atmosphere was certainly more harmonious than in London, even if not everyone is “holding hands singing lovey dovey songs”.

“But as long as the respect is there that is all that matters,” she said.

“There was some mistakes made in 2012 by the Australian swimming team but I think we live and we learn.

“Everyone does count the gold medals and medal tally we get but no matter what as long as we respect ourselves, respect our country and the fact we’re representing our country I think everyone will be happy.”

High performance manager Wayne Lomas, one of the few executives left in the Swimming Australia hierarchy since 2012, said the team had made huge strides in and out of the pool and recently met with Melbourne AFL coach Paul Roos to continue their development.

“He affirmed for us some stuff we’d been putting in place but gave us some ideas,” Lomas said.

Lomas revealed the sport’s stated ambition “to be No. 1 by 2020” had been shelved in favour of respect but knows that their out of pool transformation faces it’s real acid test in Rio.

“We’ve moved our language away from that (No. 1 ranking) to Australia being respected in and out of the pool,” Lomas said.

“I absolutely believe we can achieve that goal by the end of these Games and we can be respected for the way we behave in and out of the water and we’re certainly on the journey for that and that is the way we can achieve it.”

Originally published as Respect the watchword for in form Australian swim squad for Rio Olympics after 2012 debacle