The Australian Olympic swimming team for the upcoming Paris Olympics has been confirmed. This team’s incredible talent and performance at the Games place it among the best to represent their beloved country. These athletes will definitely leave their mark on the records of Australian sports history.
According to the team’s coach, Rohan Taylor, the goal is to match or surpass Australia’s medal tally from the Tokyo Olympics. In other words, the team would need to win at least 21 medals. Moreover, there is also an unstated goal of defeating the Americans for the first time since the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne; Australia was nine medals short last Olympics and was not able to surpass the US tally.
It is said that a significant portion of the medals will need to be won by their women athletes if Team Australia is to have any hope of accomplishing such a high goal.
Meet Australia’s Olympic swimmers
Tokyo superstars Ariarne Titmus and Kaylee McKeown have only become better in the three years since the Tokyo Olympics, setting the bar high and challenging their opponents both domestically and internationally.
In the 100- and 200-metre backstroke events, McKeown continues to lead the pace. She and American Regan Smith will probably break the world record to win the gold. In the 200-metre individual medley, an event in which McKeown excels but did not place in the Tokyo Olympics, she is likewise eager to put herself to the test and finally place this year.
On the other hand, Titmus will be a formidable opponent in the 200-, 400-, and 800-metre freestyle competitions, which are predicted to be some of the most thrilling and contested of the Paris Games.
Mollie O’Callaghan has emerged as one of Australia’s most versatile swimmers in a short amount of time, and she exudes confidence that she may still completely dominate in the Olympics. Additionally, O’Callaghan strengthens the freestyle relay teams to the extent that it becomes unfair to the others. Indeed, anything less than a gold for Australia would be shocking, especially in the 200m.
Lani Pallister will compete and fill in the void left by Cate Campbell’s failure to qualify. Emma McKeon qualified for the 100-metre butterfly in Paris.
Kyle Chalmers is still a formidable racer and a vital member of the men’s freestyle relay squads. Although the athlete’s admission that he suffers from a degenerative back problem that has persisted for a long time is concerning, his ability to bounce back from the injury and swim a qualifying time in the 100m freestyle at the Trials shows how resilient and determined he is to lead this squad.
Elijah Winnington has a chance to win his first individual Olympic medals in the 200- and 400-metre freestyle events, while Zac Stubblety-Cook will defend his 200-metre breaststroke title in Paris, after a somewhat disappointing showing this week in Brisbane.
Three years after winning a bronze in Tokyo, Brendon Smith will compete in the 400-metre individual medley again, but he will face off against world record holder Léon Marchand in Paris.
Max Giuliani is a rising star in the freestyle world who could be a threat in the 200m event. Cameron McEvoy has been advertising his new training regimen as a means of winning an Olympic medal. Sam Short is a strong contender to follow in Australia’s long tradition of 1,500m freestyle champions, and also has a strong presence in the 400m and 800m.
With the exceptional swimming backgrounds of its competing athletes, the Australian team has a greater chance of winning and surpassing 21 medals in Paris, but nearly everything must go according to their plan. They have previously done it. Will the team be successful once again?
Source: ABC News