The Aussie men:
The Australian Team enters the Games with reigning 100m freestyle World Champion James 'The Missile' Magnussen. Always close by his side is James 'The Rocket' Roberts who clocked the same time as Magnussen's World Championship win to earn a 100m freestyle swim in London. Matt Targett and Olympic silver medallist Eamon Sullivan will join the boys for the freestyle relay, aiming to replicate the gold they won at the 2011 World Championships.
Veterans Hayden Stoeckel and Christian Sprenger are firing up the versatile Team and promising a strong medley relay, while youngsters David McKeon, Thomas Fraser-Holmes, Jayden Hadler, Cameron McEvoy and debutant Chris Wright were blistering at the 2012 National Championships to end the Olympic comebacks of Olympic Champions Klim, Thorpe and Heugill. The new generation has arrived and the men are surging in time for 2012 while the women look set to continue their sizzling Olympic form in London.
The Aussie women:
Since rising as a swimming superpower in Athens and Beijing, the Australian women are not letting up. Beijing golden girl Stephanie Rice put her shoulder woes behind her to win the 200m IM and 400m IM at the 2012 National Championships in impressive fashion. Joining her in the 200m IM is Alicia Coutts who won a remarkable five gold medals at the 2010 Commonwealth Games. Coutts also won the 100m butterfly at the Trials ahead of Jessicah Schipper who is also finding renewed form in the 200m fly. Their fellow 2011 World Championships silver medallist Kylie Palmer will race in three individual events (200m, 400m, 800m freestyle). Add to the mix Bronte Barratt (200m, 400m) and Emily Seebohm (100m backstroke) and together the girls can form a potent relay combination to defend their 4x100m medley and 4x200m freestyle relay titles from Beijing. Another one to watch is 2011 World Championships silver medallist Belinda Hocking (100m and 200m backstroke) who looks to go one better in London.
Age is nothing:
Delhi teenagers Yolane Kukla and Leiston Pickett have stormed into their first Olympic Team while Olympic Champions Leisel Jones and Libby Trickett look to boost their medal hauls. Jones is the first Australian swimmer to compete at four Olympic Games. The experience of Trickett, 25-year-old Olympian Melanie Schlanger and Beijing bronze medallist Cate Campbell is exciting for Australia's 4x100m freestyle hopes. Remarkably Cate will be joined by her best friend and younger sister Bronte in the 50m freestyle in London. They are Australia's first swimming siblings since 1972.
Open water:
Australia's open water warriors Melissa Gorman and Ky Hurst placed fourth and fifth respectively at the 2011 World Championships in Shanghai. By placing in the top ten the Beijing Olympic pair earned 2012 Olympic qualification places. Their 10km race at the London Olympics will be held in Hyde Park's Serpentine Lake, a course filled with tough turns. Both racers are brimming for the physical challenge, with Hurst declaring his aim is to medal at his final Games.
SWIMMING EVENTS
Men and women now compete in 17 events each. Freestyle is raced over 50m, 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m (women only), 1500m (men only) and 10km. Butterfly, backstroke and breaststroke races cover 100m and 200m. There are also 200m and 400m medley events as well as the 4 x 100m freestyle, 4 x 200m freestyle and 4 x 100m medley relays.
Each race has a maximum of eight swimmers. Preliminary heats in the 50m, 100m and 200m events lead into semi-finals and finals based on the fastest times. In relays and individual events of 400m or more, the eight fastest finishers in the preliminaries advance directly to the finals.
Outside the pool there are two additional gold medals on offer in the men's and women's 10km open water races.
QUALIFICATION AND SELECTION
For the first time in over a decade, the Australian Olympic Selection Trials were not be held in Sydney, with the new South Australian Aquatic and Leisure Centre instead hosting the event in March 2012. The top two swimmers in each individual Olympic-distance event were eligible for selection so long as they achieved the “Olympic Qualifying Time” (OQT)/ "A" qualifier.
Australia successfully qualified for all six relay events by finishing in the top 12 of each race at the 2011 World Championships. A total of 16 relay teams compete in each event, with countries limited to one team per event. All swimmers entered in individual events can be used in relays, even if they have not achieved the OQT for the corresponding stroke and distance of the relay in which they are entered. Each country may enter additional swimmers for relays only, provided that they have achieved at least the OQT for the corresponding stroke and distance of the relay in which they are entered. Because Australia has qualified in six relays, 12 additional swimmers can be used.
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AUSTRALIAN OLYMPIC HISTORY
Australia's Olympic swimming history is superb with 178 medals - a spectacular 58 gold. Australia's first Olympic swimmer was Freddy Lane in Paris 1900 where he won two gold medals.
Since then, Australia's swimmers have gone on to incredible Olympic greatness, sweeping the pool of medals and records. Legends such as Murray Rose, Jon Henricks, Dawn Fraser, Lorraine Crapp and Jon Konrads became household names in the 1950s and 60s.
Kieren Perkins and Susie O'Neill were the big names at the Barcelona and Atlanta Games but it was the Sydney 2000 Games where Australia returned to the top echelon of Olympic swimming nations with a swag of medals going to Ian Thorpe, Grant Hackett, O'Neill and the men's relay teams.
At the Athens and Beijing Games it was the Aussie women who dominated and established themselves as the world swimming superpower and the ones to beat in London.
To read more about Australia’s Olympic swimming history, click here>>>