Nugent cracks whip as cyclists take charge

LEIGH Nugent is the first to admit that if the Olympics were held now, Australia would be looking to cycling rather than swimming to lead the charge.

NATIONAL head coach Leigh Nugent is the first to admit that if the London Olympics were held now, Australia would be looking to the cycling team rather than the swimming team to lead its campaign.

Australia's track cyclists won an astonishing six out of 10 Olympic events at the world championships last week, at a time when the swimming team does not have a single athlete ranked No 1 in the world.

"They (the cycling team) are looking pretty good; they had a very good world championships," Nugent said.

"Off our performances last year, they would be the team that would be holding us up."

But that's not a situation Nugent is willing to tolerate and he is determined to return the national swimming team to its traditional position as the spearhead of Australia's Olympic team, starting from the national championships, which began in Sydney yesterday.

"I feel sure that we can re-establish ourself in the world rankings this year," he said.

"We had quite a few seconds and thirds last year so we are not out of it, and when you get Stephanie Rice returning to form and some of the other people coming back (Libby Trickett, Ian Thorpe, Michael Klim) and we don't have the Commonwealth Games this year, so we can focus on the world scene, I think we will see a different picture."

Nugent said last year had been a "repositioning of swimming in the world.

"There was some pretty hot swimming from Europe, and from the USA at the Pan Pacs, and we finished without any No 1s but with plenty in the top four. That is healthy, but it's unusual for Australia not to have any No 1 athletes."

In response, Nugent has imposed tough qualifying standards on the national team for the world championships in Shanghai in July, insisting that the nation's elite performers raise their sights to earn a place in the national team.

Those who can't perform at a standard equivalent to the top 12 in the world will miss the cut.

"You have to rise to a standard that's competitive with the world because unless you do that, you are probably not going to be in the mix," Nugent said.

"And our swimmers and coaches have embraced that. I've heard no complaints, but the team hasn't been selected yet.

"(Former national coach) Don Talbot set high standards in the 1990s and people rose to that

and I think we have people of great character and they'll rise to this.

"If you have a blanket two-per-nation selection, you stay at the same level. There comes a time to set the bottom line and that's my job."

That particularly applies to men's swimming, where standards have dropped noticeably in the past decade.

"To stimulate that we have to supply some other force, and if it doesn't start at home, it's not going to start internationally," Nugent said.

"We have to expect more in our domestic environment."

Nugent makes no apology for setting standards that, in at least one case (the men's 400m individual medley) will require the top two swimmers to break the national record (4min 15.20sec) to earn selection.

He is fully prepared for the possibility that no Australians will qualify in some events, like the men's 200m butterfly (where Australia's top two men are injured) and possibly the men's 1500m freestyle, where the qualifying time is 15:08.54.

Nugent understands that might provoke a public outcry given Australia's glorious 1500m history but he says flatly that "if you are not under 15 minutes you are not competitive".

The high standards will make it tougher for rookies to break through to the national team this year but there are still a smattering of good candidates, including sprinter James Roberts.