Project Relay: Dolphins ready for 2020 changeovers

 

 

Swimming Australia: August 5, 2018: The Australian Dolphins Swim Team is counting on its National Relay Project to inject even more enthusiasm into its Pan Pac campaign in Tokyo next week and onwards towards the 2020 Olympics.

 

The Dolphins will wrap up its Pan Pac preparations in Nagaoka – some two hours from Tokyo via the bullet train – tomorrow, after a week long camp that has set the stage for not only this campaign but its plans for even smoother changeovers in two years time.

 

And with seven relays now on the Olympic program, - with the addition of the mixed 4x100m medley relay – the Dolphins have added another level of professionalism into its relay preparations.

 

The relay squads went through their paces under team coaches on the eve of their departure and Team Director and National Head Coach Jacco Verhaeren is happy with where his team stands with the four-day Pan Pac pool competition starting in August 9 (Thursday).

 

“Its going to be very exciting as it always is…the relays are always the highlight of the evening…and every night we have up to two relays, so its going to be awesome,” said Verhaeren.

 

“We’ve prepared very well, the team is very fit, very healthy and all the reasons to give it a crack next week.

“Relays have always been an important part of our program but with the inclusion of another relay, the mixed medley, they are becoming even more important.

 

“And what that means is we practice relay skills all year round and on top of that we run tests every eight weeks in their home environment.

 

“Because it’s a massive country we need to do that in the home environment - we get all that data back and give that feedback to the athletes where they can improve and what we have seen with that added practice is that they are improving  with their skills.

 

“A lot of practice is necessary and that’s why we do that all year round now under what we have labeled the National Relay Project.”

 

At the last Olympics the USA won five of the six relays and were second to Australia’s world record breaking women in the 4x100m freestyle relay.

 

The Dolphins won medals in five of the six relays – adding two silvers in the women’s 4x100m medley and 4x200m freestyle and two bronze medals in the men’s 4x100m medley and 4x200m freestyle – finishing fourth in the men’s 4x200m freestyle behind the USA, Great Britain and Japan.

Australia will go into this meet without the experience of former world champions Bronte Campbell,and James Magnussen as well as two-time Olympic relay gold medallist Brittany Elmslie and sprint star Cam McEvoy – relying on a host of youngsters to step up to the plate.