The Australian swimming team has taken exception to stinging media criticism of the men’s inability to win an individual gold medal at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games swimming competition.
Aussie media have slammed the performance, coming four years after the men won 15 golds at the Manchester Games, saying it has provided British swimming with a major psychological boost ahead of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
The Australians left it until the final race on the Games’ 41-event schedule on Tuesday — the men’s 4x100m medley relay — to claim a victory.
It was the weakest Commonwealth performance by an Australian men’s squad in almost 70 years, and contrasted starkly with the 16 gold claimed by Australia’s world champion women’s team.
Most of the media acknowledged that the Aussie men’s team was weakened by the loss of Olympic superstars Ian Thorpe and Grant Hackett, but were critical of the remaining senior swimmers putting in times below their personal best.
Head coach Alan Thompson said the media had been over-critical and it was having an effect on his swimmers.
”I’ve got to criticise you guys [the media] a little bit … I don’t think you have given the positives as much as perhaps some of the negatives,” Thompson said after the six-day meet.
”We rely on you guys to help us too and it’s important we get the message out there and if the team has not won a gold medal it does not help the mentality of the team. You guys have got a responsibility in that area as well.
”If you keep generalising and making headlines and looking for a gold medal it is not a great thing to do to the team.
”The expectations are extremely high and the great improvement of our young guys and the great work done has been overlooked by looking for a single gold medal.
”We are starting to see the emergence of young men who are probably a year away from making their mark on the world.
”We need to make sure we are not losing sight of the big picture for one gold medal.” – Sapa-AFP