SWIM TRIAL GOLD

How copying the Yanks pays off – but tactics not perfected

THE copycat shake-up to an American-style swimming strategy has produced a golden bounty in the pool, yet Australian head coach Jacco Verhaeren is wary of calling it a cure-all for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics just yet.

The Aussies smashed top rivals England, South Africa and Canada in the water at these Commonwealth Games but how that converted to a strong blueprint for Tokyo was just as important for swim chiefs.

Verhaeren said swimmers posting personal bests or season-best times between trials and the Games – including golden girls Cate and Bronte Campbell (pictured) – had jumped to more than 60 per cent on the Gold Coast after a poor conversion rate of about 30 per cent in the hit-or-miss 2016 Rio Olympics.

For these Games, the Dutch swim boss threw out Australia’s time-honoured calendar of syncing trials four months out by cloning the US formula of condensing trials and a major meet just a month apart. “Around 30 per cent (as a conversion rate) wasn’t good enough and that’s why we made the move because if you keep doing the same, you’ll keep getting the same,’’ Verhaeren said.

“It’s too early to draw conclusions but we are hitting about a 60-65 per cent rate in terms of PBs and season-best times.

“That’s a very good score, that’s double Rio.” Forty-eight of the 80 swims before last night’s finals had produced better times than the recent trials, and while the Dolphins are aiming for a 70 per cent benchmark, injuries to Emma McKeon (shoulder), Laura Taylor (root canal work), Zac Incerti (back) and David McKeon (shoulder) explain a few of the misses.

The guessing game is over how much credit to apportion to the scheduling switch and how much to the magic of home Games adrenaline.

“I think it’s been a double message, a double whammy,” coach Dean Boxall said.

“It’s been just over four weeks since the trials so the swimmers on the squad have been mentally fresh. They’ve not gone away for a whole new preparation.”

IN terms of world-beating swims, Bronte Campbell’s stirring 100m freestyle upset was exceptional because her time (52.27sec) would have won her Olympic gold in 2016 and a share of gold at last year’s world championships in Budapest. That came on top of her share of a world record relay.

Those two swims of gold medal value would have doubled the single gold won at last year’s world titles when Australia fell out of the world’s top five for the first time since 1986 on the medal table.

Head coach Jacco Verhaeren said the condensed trialsswim meet formula would be copied with July’s selection meet in Adelaide for the August Pan Pacs.