- The US paid for some swimmers to stay in nearby hotels in Paris
- Australian stars such as Kaylee McKeown were based in the Olympic village
- America had the final say, winning the most gold medals in the pool
The rivalry between Australia and America is legendary in swimming circles. Now it can be revealed just how desperate the US was to win Olympic medals in the pool in Paris.
While athletes like Ariarne Titmus and Kaylee McKeown endured the toughest conditions in the Olympic Village, athletes like Katie Ledecky and Regan Smith did not.
After Titmus won gold in the 400-meter freestyle, U.S. swimming officials called it quits.
They discreetly guided a handful of world stars out of the village to a hotel within walking distance of La Defense Arena.
Ultimately, the move paid off: the US finished with eight gold medals to Australia’s seven.
The victory, achieved in the final event of the swimming programme – the women’s 4x100m medley relay – also meant that the US maintained its record as the top swimming nation at the Games.
Australia has beaten America in the swimming pool at the Olympics – back in 1956, when the Games were held in Melbourne.
It didn’t take long for other countries to catch on to the fact that a handful of American stars were recuperating in luxury accommodations instead of the Olympic Village. But since the move didn’t break any rules, they had to bite their tongues.
The rivalry between Australia and America is legendary in swimming circles – and now it can be revealed just how desperate the US were to win Olympic medals in the Paris pool
While Ariarne Titmus and Kaylee McKeown endured the toughest conditions in the Olympic Village, the same could not be said for Katie Ledecky (pictured) and Regan Smith, who enjoyed luxury hotel accommodation
“At the Olympics you expect everything to be on a level playing field,” McKeown said News Corp.
So [after hearing the hotel news] I thought, ‘Well, that’s a bit of a blow for us.’ We were an hour away from the village and back.
‘She [US] stayed just outside the village and walked to the pool and back.’
The development comes after Titmus came under fire after criticising the “ridiculous” conditions in the Olympic village.
“Living in the Olympic Village makes it difficult to perform,” she admitted in an interview.
‘It’s certainly not meant for top performances, it’s about who can really keep it together in their mind.’
Retired Australian Olympic swimmer James Magnussen also slammed the Olympics, saying the environmentally friendly policies in Paris would ruin athletes’ chances of setting world records.
“There are several factors that make village life far from ideal,” the two-time Olympian wrote in his column for News Corp just before the Games.
‘[Mainly] “It’s the cardboard beds that can’t give you optimal sleep,” he said.
‘For me, the lack of world records comes down to the whole eco-friendly, carbon footprint, vegan-first mentality, rather than peak performance.’