Tokyo Olympic swimming trials: Victorian athletes won’t be allowed to compete

The Tokyo dreams of 12 athletes are already over after Swimming Australia refused to approve a Covid-safe management plan successfully adopted by the AFL last weekend.

The dreams of 12 Victorian Olympic hopefuls have been ruined after Swimming Australia has refused to adopt a Covid-management plan successfully used by the AFL.

The group of high-performing Victorian athletes who were granted exemptions to travel interstate for the Tokyo trials by the SA government have now been denied access to the event.

Swimming Australia has been unable to adopt health measures recommended by the health department, including a sterile corridor, which event organisers say is unfeasible for the busy event.

Swimming Australia CEO Alex Baumann said they couldn’t abide buy the Covid rules.

The Covid-safe management plan was successfully adopted by the AFL when Collingwood travelled to SA last weekend.

The trials, starting on Thursday, is the last possible chance for Australian athletes to qualify for the Olympics.

SA Health said Swimming Australia refused to adopt suggested changes.

“The event organisers were unable to implement changes suggested by SA Health for the event which has resulted in 12 Victorian swimmers unable to participate,” a SA Health statement said.

“When we have to restrict movement from other jurisdictions into South Australia because of a serious Covid outbreak, first and foremost, we prioritise the health and wellbeing of the South Australian community.

“Any Covid Management Plan event is developed in partnership with the organiser to ensure associated exemption applications can be safely approved, particularly when there is a Covid-19 outbreak in another jurisdiction.”

Swimming Australia said criticism of the organisation this week had been unfair and implementing a sterile corridor would be impossible.

“SA Health requires that those people operate within a sterile corridor and not come into direct contact with any other athletes, coaches, staff and spectators, which cannot be implemented due to the nature of our sport,” Swimming Australia chief executive Alex Baumann said.

“We empathise with the athletes who are unable to compete in Adelaide at the 2021 Australian Swimming trials due to the South Australian Government’s Covid restrictions.

“Ideally, we would of course want everyone who qualified to compete, but that is just not possible with the restrictions required by SA Health to safely deliver the event.”

Swimming Australia was criticised this week after it was revealed they moved their top tier athletes to Queensland quickly after the Victorian lockdown was announced, leaving behind lower grade athletes still eligible to compete at the qualifier.

Mack Horton was one of the lucky few to get out of Victoria.

Olympic champion Mack Horton was among those who made a mercy dash to the Sunshine State.

Baumann said the criticism was “unfair”.

“Like all of us living through these unpredictable, unprecedented times, we strive to protect the health and aspirations of our athletes,” he said.

“The purpose of the Olympic and Paralympic Trials is to provide our top athletes their opportunity to achieve qualifying times for team selection, and this is where our primary focus must lie.”

Verdict in for Olympic hopefuls stuck in Victoria

Victorian swimmers caught in a border bungle have been granted exemptions to travel to Adelaide for Olympic trials this weekend.

On Tuesday, South Australian police allowed some Victorian athletes to cross the border after a group of 25 swimmers made a desperate plea to be exempt.

Melbourne Olympic hopeful Jackson Car said it had been “quite the ordeal”.

“I am very excited to get to the Olympic trials and potentially be a part of the Australian team and represent my country,” he told News Corp Australia.

“For the last few years the Olympics has been the pinnacle of my long term goals.

“The border closure was devastating, we were running around so confused. There were so many layers of confusion. It has been one hell of a rollercoaster of emotions.”

Mr Car said he was excited to compete.

“I can’t wait to get in the pool, it will wash away all of the emotions of the past two weeks,” he said.

While Swimming Australia’s funded athletes were flown to Queensland before Victoria’s fourth lockdown came into place, second-tier swimmers had feared being left behind and until Tuesday afternoon had found themselves locked out of upcoming Olympic trials in Adelaide.

News Corp Australia understands Swimming Australia feared the trials could become a superspreader event and potentially cripple the success of the team in Tokyo.

Car, 20, was among the 25 Victorian swimmers caught up in the devastating bungle.

“These kids are going to miss the opportunity to be in that arena, competing for their chance to qualify for the Olympics,” his father Tim Car said.

“My son has been in the pool training since he was a toddler, he has lived and dreamt of the Olympics.

Mack Horton and other swimmers in VIC were flown to QLD.

“It’s a terrible situation with the Olympic dreams of these high-performance athletes destroyed. These kids are absolutely gutted.”

Olympic champion Mack Horton made a mercy dash to Queensland on May 26 alongside other top tier Victorian swimmers including Matthew Temple, Bowen Gough and Brendon Smith.

Mr Car said Swimming Australia had failed to communicate about the need for athletes to flee Victoria in order to be able to attend the trials.

“They looked after their A-grade athletes, they are protecting their assets,” he said.

“They have poured a lot of money into the funded swimming programs.”

The Victorian swimmers left behind then set up a training bubble and applied to the South Australian government for an exemption.

The trials are the last chance for Australian athletes to make the Tokyo team.

Mr Car was pushing for a qualifying event to be held in Victoria.

“Every other organisation has worked around Covid to come up with a solution to keep going, however Swimming Australia doesn’t want to entertain that idea,” he said.

“Every one of these kids has qualified for Olympic trials and it has been shut up. They are devastated.”

Swimming Australia said all Victorian athletes were provided immediate advice the day the lockdown was announced.

“We certainly empathise with the athletes and their families in Victoria but unfortunately we have no control over the border restrictions that State governments put in place,” a statement said.

“We made a proactive decision to move our high performance programs to Queensland as there was notification of a community transmission case, with the selection of the Olympic and Paralympic team at the forefront of decision making.

“Regrettably, we are not in a position to postpone trials due to the timelines in place for the selection of our Olympic and Paralympic teams, nor are we in a position to run a concurrent event for any athlete who cannot make it due to border closures.”