As The Pain Of Prep Subsides The Dolphins Get Set To Leap South For Rio Rumble

“Allowing Russia at Rio creates the ultimate distraction. Every medal they win, discussions will focus away from the clean athletes. #WRONG” – So tweeted one of the most robbed greats of swimming in history, Shirley Babashoff, today.

That summed up one of the main reasons why a blanket ban was essential; why the IOC has failed clean sport once again and why FINA struggles yet to get it right. There is and will be no avoiding the asterisk and the drop of all out entails between now and the start of action in Rio on August 6 and for the eight days of thrills and spills that follow.

Meanwhile’s Babshoff’s point is out there getting ready for the Olympic Games and today we look at the Australians on camp in Austin, where the head coach at the Auburn Tigers is former Aussie international turned coach, Brett Hawke.

The team meet the media today in Auburn, on the back of  a “so far, so good” message with a smile from head coach Jacco Verhaeren this week.

The Australians arrived at Auburn in groups at a time. Praising the facilities and the environment, Verhaeren noted that the holding camp was “about acclimatising, getting adjusted to the time zone”. It was “a lot hotter and more humid” than back home in Australia and more so than it will be in Brazil, Rio in winter and experiencing clement, mild weather.

The Dolphins, as dictated by NBC’s Olympic colonialism (the U.S. broadcaster was also reported to have requested a later walk-in slot for the ‘Estados Unidos’ – E in Portuguese well before the U of United in English – at the Opening Ceremony to suit the home crown and prime time, its money stretching to mote than broadcast rights), are training between 11 and 1 noon time and 7 and 9 at night to coincide with the lunchtime heats and 10pm to midnight finals in Rio.

“They are pretty normal days but a bit later than normal,” says Verhaeren, reflecting the fact that U.S, time zone is a favourable preparation zone for the schedule set by NBC.

The Dutchman was “not looking for performance as yet”, the camp all about finding the “right sleep, getting rest time sorted and adjusting to the time zone and schedule”.

Videos of the camp show the hard work and fun that all seem to be signed up to, a handing-out ceremony of Olympic jackets to the swimmers conducted by Hawke as master of ceremonies, each recipient applauded by teammates in turn.

Down time has been filled with team competitions of a different kind, Cameron McEvoy of Bond and his girls, left, winning a theme test with some threatening poses, David McKeon and Emily Seebohm’s squad, right, running ’em a close second, according to their tweets.

Above and beyond all of that, the hard and smart work has continued apace. For Mack Horton, the distance ace who arrived with great promise at world titles last year but was knocked back by what turned out to be low-lying illness founded on the fatigue …

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