Three Victorians have earned their place on a powerhouse 35-strong Australian Olympic Swimming Team announced by the Australian Olympic Committee in Adelaide last night.
Nunawading teammates and Olympic debutants, Brendon Smith and Matthew Temple will be joined by Olympic Gold medalist Mack Horton from Melbourne Vicentre who is preparing to compete at his second Olympics.
Temple was on fire, achieving a Tokyo triple. He qualified in the Men’s 200m Butterfly, 100m Freestyle and took the honours in the 100m Butterfly, with his time 50.45 breaking the Australian record set by Andrew Lauterstein in 2009.
Smith secured his spot early with an amazing swim on night one in the Men’s 400m Individual Medley. Not only did he swim under the qualifying time, his time of 4:10.04 broke the 8 year old Australian record set by Thomas Fraser-Holmes.
Joining the duo is Nunawading Coaching Director and Swimming Victoria Life Member, Wayne Lawes who is also preparing for his first Olympics.
Also named on the team was former Victorian Jess Hansen who now swims with Cruiz Swim Club (ACT).
Swimming Australia Head Coach Rohan Taylor congratulated the athletes on their selection.
“I’ve been really pleased with the performances this week,” Taylor said. “It’s so great to be able to get back to quality racing at a meet like this and see our team perform so well. I feel we have a strong team, and I’m particularly pleased with the strength of our relays, it shows the fantastic depth in this squad.
“Getting selected onto the Olympic Games is a real team effort. These athletes have great support behind them, congratulations and thank you to the coaches, support staff and supporters who have helped make this happen.
“We have a big five weeks ahead of us. Now it’s about preparing our athletes for what they’ll experience and get them ready to perform on the biggest stage in the world in Tokyo."
Australian Olympic Swimming Team – Victorians
Mack Horton – Melbourne Vicentre (Coach - Craig Jackson)
Brendon Smith – Nunawading (Coach – Wayne Lawes)
Matthew Temple – Nunawading (Coach – Wayne Lawes)
Wayne Lawes – Nunawading
