Tokyo Olympic trials: Aussie swimmers warned to perform or risk missing team
After the team flopped at the last two Olympics, Australia’s swimmers have been put on notice ahead of this week’s do-or-die trials.
Australia’s elite swimmers have been put on notice they will be left off the team for Tokyo if they don’t measure up to the cutthroat standards that have been set for this week’s Olympic and Paralympic trials.
Determined to return Australian swimming to the glory days after the disappointing medal returns in London (2012) and Rio (2016), national selectors have raised the bar for everyone hoping to make the team for next month’s Tokyo Olympics.
Not only has Swimming Australia implemented its own standards – which are considerably faster than the official Olympic qualifying times – but team officials have also added an unapologetic warning that there’ll be no second chances or excuses for swimmers who don’t make the grade.
“We‘ve got quite a lot of opportunities to be on the podium … but it’s about converting those chances,” Swimming Australia head coach Rohan Taytor said.
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“We haven‘t been able to do that in the last couple of Olympics but I think maybe there were some missed opportunities so we’re just hoping that what we’ve put in place over the last few years will give our guys the best chance to convert when they get there.”
The new hard line approach means there may be some events that Australia doesn‘t compete in at Tokyo but the biggest change from the past is the decision to move the trials to six weeks before the Olympics, rather than holding them months before.
It’s the same system that the United States has successfully used but it brings increased pressure because swimmers face a tricky balancing act getting their training workloads spot on to achieve the lofty qualifying standards then go even faster at the main event.
The 12-month postponement because of the global pandemic has only added to the uncertainty but the blunt message from the selectors to swimmers is make sure you perform when it matters.
In a sport, where places on the team are invariably decided by fractions of seconds, that has set the stage for an intriguing six days of competition that threatens to see a changing of the guard.
All the early indications suggest the Dolphins are on track for a big medal haul in Tokyo from a team that will likely be a mix of experience and youth.
At 29, Cate Campbell is still Australia’s female sprint queen as she bids to make her fourth Olympics, along with veteran backstroker Emily Seebohm but will have to be on her game.
Campbell’s younger sister Bronte is aiming for her third Olympics while Rio gold medallists Kyle Chalmers, Mack Horton and Emma McKeon are all looking to go back a second time.
McKeon is looming as Australia’s big winner in Tokyo, competing in as many as eight events, including relays, but it’s the new wave of up and coming swimmers that has most of the sport’s followers excited.
Giant-killer Ariarne Titmus did the seemingly impossible when she upset American superstar Katie Ledecky to win the 400m freestyle at the 2019 world championships but faces a tougher task in Tokyo after suffering a shoulder injury firing lockdown.
Then there’s Queensland teenage sensation Kaylee McKeown – who is currently ranked No. 1 in the world this season in three different events – 100m backstroke, 200m backstroke and 200m individual medley.
She’s managed to stay under the radar so far but that may not last much longer.
The same applies to Elijah Winnington, who has been challenging Horton as Australia’s top middle distance hope, and Mitch Larkin, who is a genuine contender in two different events but has to choose between them because of a schedule clash.
SELECTION RULES
There are a total of 35 swimming events at the Tokyo Olympics, not including open-water.
These comprise 14 individual races and three relays for both men and women, plus a mixed medley relay.
Australia can enter up to two swimmers in each individual event as well as one team in each of the seven relays.
Under the rules, Australian can select a maximum number of 28 male and 28 female swimmers for Tokyo, including up to 12 relay-only swimmers.
To be selected for an individual event, swimmers need to finish first or second at the trials and meet the qualifying standards set by Swimming Australia - which are equivalent to the time that was needed to make the final at the 2019 world championships.
FINALS SCHEDULE
Day 1 - Saturday 12 June
Women’s 100m butterfly
Men’s 400m individual medley
Women’s 400m freestyle multi-class
Men’s 400m freestyle multi-class
Men’s 100m breaststroke
Women’s 400m individual medley
Women’s 200m freestyle multi-class
Men’s 200m freestyle multi-class
Men’s 400m freestyle
Day 2- Sunday 13 June
Women’s 100m backstroke
Women’s 100m butterfly multi-class
Men’s 100m butterfly multi-class
Women’s 100m breaststroke
Men’s 50m freestyle multi-class
Men’s 100m backstroke
Women’s 400m freestyle
Women’s 50m freestyle multi-class
Men’s 50m backstroke multi-class
Men’s 200m free freestyle
Day 3 - Monday 14 June
Women’s 200m individual medley
Men’s 150m individual medley multi-class
Women’s 200m individual medley multi-class
Men’s 200m individual medley multi-class
Men’s 200m butterfly
Women’s 200m freestyle
Men’s 50m backstroke multi-class
Men’s 800m freestyle
Day 4- Tuesday 15 June
Men’s 200m breaststroke
Women’s 100m breaststroke multi-class
Men’s 100m breaststroke multi-class
Women’s 200m butterfly
Men’s 100m freestyle multi-class
Women’s 100m freestyle multi-class
Men’s 100m freestyle
Women’s 1500m freestyle
Day 5 - Wednesday 16 June
Men’s 200m individual medley
Women’s 100m backstroke multi-class
Men’s 100m backstroke multi-class
Women’s 50m butterfly multi-class
Men’s 50m butterfly multi-class
Women’s 200m breaststroke
Men’s 200m backstroke
Women’s 100m freestyle
Paralympic team announcement
Day 6 - Thursday 17 June
Women’s 200m backstroke
Men’s 100m butterfly
Women’s 800m freestyle
Women’s 50m freestyle
Men’s 50m freestyle
Men’s 1500m freestyle
Olympic team announcement
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