Superfish puts torch on our swim team

THE revived self-confidence and home Games energy that so stir Cate Campbell also sum up Australian swimming at large.

There is huge pressure on our Aussie swimmers because how they perform really does set the tone for our entire Commonwealth Games team of more than 470 athletes.

You can slip through a year like 2017 with a single gold medal from the world championships in Budapest with the public not taking too much heed of a below-par result.

Not this year with a home Games. On the Gold Coast. In the heartbeat state for swimming in this country. With the pool spotlight from day one.

The eyes of Australia and the swimming world will be watching on the first finals night (April 5) and the Dolphins need to step up.

In a dream scenario, Ariarne Titmus (200m freestyle), Olympic champion Mack Horton ( 400m freestyle) and the 4x100m freestyle relay women will make it a night to remember. Having mentioned the expectations, there is nothing like a rare home crowd to lift you.

I’ll never forget the noise at the pool during the Sydney Olympics in 2000 because there is almost an energy transference to you in the water.

The noise of a home Games crowd really does go right through you and it’s yours to harness and use.

Maybe it was my mental state during races but even when fans in the stands were not cheering and yelling for me, I thought they were.

I couldn’t be more impressed with how Cate Campbell has handled herself since her disappointment at the Rio Olympics when she missed a medal in the 100m freestyle.

Time off to freshen up and experience a world away from swimming was just what she needed.

I sensed a renewed self-confidence in her capabilities at the recent Games trials and her leadership and perspective are going to be significant for the swim team. Cate swam a bad race in the Rio final. She didn’t become a bad swimmer.

Cate absolutely nailed her relay gold medal swim, and her heat and semi-final of the 100m freestyle in Rio, so being the public face of the swim team didn’t weigh her down there. Big meets are about racing and Cate will relish the prospect of redemption on the Gold Coast against Canada’s Olympic 100m champion Penny Oleksiak.

Cate’s first big chance on the Gold Coast will be the relay on the opening night. Good relays really do lift every swimmer because it is a whole-ofteam opportunity.

The sheer joy of a winning relay swim could really be the springboard to a bag of gold medals for Cate at the Games.

Don’t let anyone tell you “it’s only the Commonwealth Games”.

Australia has a rich Games history and there is no better way to experience a major multi-sport event before the plunge at the Olympics.

Just watch the correlation between the very best at the Gold Coast and the Tokyo Olympics in 2020.