‘Greatest ever’ Aussie Olympic swim team need ‘at least’ 52k screaming fans

Olympic gold medallists are demanding Brisbane 2032 organisers go “bigger” and host Australia’s flagship sport at Suncorp Stadium or a brand new proposed National Aquatic Centre.

Duncan Armstrong OAM (Olympic Gold Medallist & Broadcaster, Host) and Meg Harris (Swimming, Olympic Gold Medallist.) Picture: John Gass

Australia will field its “greatest ever” swim team at the 2032 Games – and that team should compete in front of at least 52,000 screaming fans at Suncorp Stadium, gold-medallist Duncan Armstrong has declared.

Armstrong and his mentee, two-time gold medallist Meg Harris, are demanding Brisbane 2032 organisers go “bigger” in 2032 and host Australia’s flagship sport at Suncorp Stadium or the proposed new National Aquatic Centre at Spring Hill.

Their call comes amid a public spat between Brisbane and the Gold Coast about whether Olympic and Paralympic swimming events should be held as originally planned at the new inner-city Brisbane Arena or the 2018 Commonwealth Games venue at Southport.

But Seoul 1988 gold medallist Armstrong said organisers needed to think bigger than either of those options – and host the event in front of “at least” 52,000 fans at Suncorp Stadium.

Los Angeles at the 2028 Games is slated to host swimming at a drop-in pool inside a reconfigured, 38,000-seat SoFi Stadium.

Armstrong tipped a Brisbane Olympic and Paralympics would feature a national swim team better than the best-ever Sydney 2000 Games – and insisted they be able to perform on a deserving stage.

“I’m thinking about, my imagination blossoming, about people walking into Suncorp for a swimming event and having our greatest swim team swim, man I get romantic about that,” Armstrong said.

The 22-year-old Harris, from Mackay, said swimming in front of 17,000 people at the Paris Games was her career highlight so far, and called on Brisbane to match the atmosphere.

An artist’s impression of the swimming venue that will be built at Sofi Stadium for the Los Angeles Olympics Picture LA2028 Games.

“The bigger the better,” Harris said.

“I just want this new generation to be able to experience something like that because it was incredible.”

Swimming Australia has submitted to the State Government’s independent 100-day venues review a new National Aquatics Centre to be built alongside the existing Centenary Pool in Spring Hill.

It says that is the best way to deliver a significant legacy for swimming from the 2032 Games.

Olympics Minister Tim Mander would not be drawn on his preference for where the blue ribbon swimming should be staged when asked on Thursday.

But Mr Mander said the public debate between Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner and his Gold Coast counterpart Tom Tate had been a healthy one.

“I think it’s fantastic that we have our local cities and local towns that really want the Games played in their areas,” Mr Mander said.

“So we welcome that type of attention, and we welcome the fact that people want events.”

Asked if Mr Tate had made a compelling case with his argument that swimming could be delivered for a smaller outlay using the city’s existing aquatic centre, Mr Mander said cost was one of “lots of issues to take into account”.

Duncan Armstrong. Picture: John Gass

Meg Harris. Picture: John Gass

“Well, it makes logical sense to Tom Tate, which is, of course, what he would say,” he said.

“Of course, the cost of venues is a very important factor that the independent infrastructure authority will be considering … but there’s lots of issues to take into account.”

Mr Mander said he was “neutral with regards to where these venues will be”.

“That’s why we’ve got a panel of experts to give us advice on those things and it’s important now that those decisions are made and that we get on with building the facilities and the venues that of course we need for the games,” Mr Mander said.

“Of course, the Games independent Infrastructure Coordination Authority will be submitting its final report in the next couple of weeks and once we’ve got that, we can put all this speculation to bed and get on with building the venues that are so necessary.”

Armstrong tips sport funding will soar in lead-up to Brisbane 2032 – like it did before Sydney – to prepare hundreds of young athletes for global competition.

“We found (Michael) Klim, (Grant) Hackett, (Ian) Thorpe, Susie (O’Neill), we found them all because of the funding and the modelling around that,” he said.

“We had the greatest Olympic Games we ever had in 2000 then we went on to a fantastic Athens and a fantastic Beijing – and then we went off the boil a little bit as all those swimmers aged out and the funding dropped.

“We’re in a funding cycle that you’re going to see build up and build up and build up.

“We’ve got this team composition at the moment and we’ve got an Olympics coming so I think by the time we land in 2032 we’re going to have probably the greatest swim team this country has ever seen.”

Armstrong was at Fortitude Valley’s The Precinct on Thursday as part of a Project32 mentoring session.

The program aims to help athletes engage with the corporate sector so they can focus on sport and boost their chances of securing a strong career after retiring.

Harris, who has inked a new partnership and secured a home loan through Auswide Bank, said it allowed her to focus on swimming.

“It takes so much pressure off figuring out what I’m gonna do outside,” she said.

Originally published as ‘Greatest ever’ Aussie Olympic swim team need ‘at least’ 52k screaming fans