Australia’s swimming team has the firepower needed to challenge US dominance at the Olympics

Australian swim team head coach Rohan Taylor admits it will be a tall order to knock the USA off the top of the Olympic medal table in Paris, but says his team has the “firepower” to try.

The two nations have traditionally been the leaders in the swimming group, but since the 1956 Games in Melbourne, Australia has not been able to match the dominant Americans in terms of medal count.

An outstanding performance at last year’s World Championships in Japan, where they won more gold medals than the Americans, raised high expectations.

But Taylor, who was responsible for Australia’s success at the last Olympic Games in Tokyo, where the Australian team won nine gold medals and 20 gold medals overall, acknowledged that the Americans will be back in the hunt on July 27 when swimming begins at La Défense Arena.

“I think the Americans are the benchmark in this sport,” he said late Wednesday at Australia’s training camp outside the French capital.

“So they are the best country and they deserve it, they have the skills and the performance. Overall, they will have someone in every discipline who can get on the podium.”

“The respect for the USA is enormous,” he added.

“We want to be as good as them. And so the rivalry is probably more about respect and the fact that we see ourselves as striving to be as good and to be as good consistently.”

Australia’s ambitions rest on the shoulders of heavyweights such as Ariarne Titmus, Kaylee McKeown, Mollie O’Callaghan, Kyle Chalmers and their impressive relay teams.

Taylor said the team is on track to do as well or better than they did in Tokyo, with several swimmers capable of something special.

“I think we have a pretty comparable team in terms of our rankings and where we were before Tokyo,” he said.

“These athletes are exceptional coaches, they are dedicated and they perform on the world stage. I believe they deserve the expectations and this is their purpose in life.

“They’re going to get up and try, there’s no need to worry about that,” he added. “We’ve got a lot of punching power and that’s exciting.”

mp/h