Swimming in Australia has a proud and rich record in the archives of Australia\u2019s Olympic history.<\/p>\n
The Australian Dolphins Swim team have worked hard to be a team the nation is proud of and in victory and defeat they have supported each other.<\/p>\n
Swimming Australia President John Bertrand<\/strong> AO<\/strong> said the Dolphins had contributed greatly to Australian Sport.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Australian Swim Team has always been so consistent as a high performing sport on the international stage. The Dolphins have a proud history and a strong reputation and I believe we can be even stronger,\u201d Bertrand said.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat we know is the level of competition at the Rio Olympics will be surpassed at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. History tells us that.<\/p>\n \u201cSo we are in the business of getting there faster than any other nation in the world. That was the focus of this review. What are the key lessons learned from Rio and how we apply them going forward.\u201d<\/p>\n The last four years has seen significant change as the sport re-built its culture and made significant progress, moving up the international ranks, ensuring the Dolphins are a team Australia can be proud of both in and out of the water.<\/p>\n Swimming Australia CEO Mark Anderson<\/strong> said this post-Rio review process was about building on the progress that we had already made.<\/p>\n \u201cWe can and will learn from our Rio experiences,\u201d Anderson said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe will build on the progress we have made and what was evident in Rio, both successes missed opportunities.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Dolphins went from seventh on the swimming medal tally in London, to second in Rio 2016, as a result of the three gold medals won by Mack Horton, Kyle Chalmers<\/strong> and our women\u2019s 4x100m freestyle relay team, Cate<\/strong> and Bronte<\/strong> Campbell<\/strong>, Emma<\/strong> McKeon<\/strong> and Brittany<\/strong> Elmslie<\/strong>.<\/p>\n \u201cMedalling in five of the six relay events displayed the depth of the team and this is exciting moving forward. We know that we have the talent to challenge the world again in Tokyo 2020.<\/p>\n \u201cNow, the time is right to take the next steps and this review is part of that process for in this next Olympic cycle.\u201d<\/p>\n And following an extensive post-Olympic review and in keeping with its determination to improve its international status, Swimming Australia has today unveiled a four-year strategic plan as it prepares for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympics.<\/p>\n One of the biggest changes will see a significant evolution to the Podium Centre Program, including a reduction from 14 down to nine Swimming Australia supported \u2018High Performance Centres\u2019.<\/p>\n With a reduction in the number of supported centres, high performance funding will go further and the standard of the daily performance environment for athletes and coaches will increase, as will the expectation on the centres.<\/p>\n A key change is the decision to shift Selection Trials events closer to the Benchmark Events such as the FINA World Championships and Olympic Games.<\/p>\n Australia\u2019s National Head Coach Jacco Verhaeren<\/strong> admitted the Trials shift would be one of the key changes to emerge from the review and a change that would \u201cresonate throughout the swimming community.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOur rationale behind the Trials shift is to create \u2018more and significant competition\u2019 leading into our Benchmark Events,\u201d Verhaeren said.<\/p>\n The key factor in achieving this change is the support of our State Swimming Associations, and the scheduling of their state championship events in-line with benchmark Selection Trial events, 5 weeks from competition.<\/p>\n \u201cThis change will result in consistent racing in the months leading up to trials. Our system has been structured around the southern hemisphere summer, we now have facilities in warmer places and are able to host our trials closer to the Benchmark Events which are typically during a Northern Hemisphere summer.<\/p>\n \u201cThe majority of coaches and the people from within the system are actually very supportive, otherwise we would not have been able to achieve it, all these decisions have been made in close consultation with the coaches and that\u2019s how it should be.\u201d<\/p>\n There will also be the:<\/p>\n