Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive show news, updates, and more!
Olympic Rivalry Between Team USA and Australia in Swimming Is Strong as Ever
Trash talk from an Australian swimming star has ignited the rivalry between Team USA and the Dolphins from Down Under heading into the 2024 Paris Summer Games.
Heading into the 2024 Paris Games, it appears it isn’t all water under the bridge when it comes to the rivalry between the U.S. and Australian swim teams.
Judging by the recent reactions by several American swimming icons to a viral 2023 interview in which Aussie swimmer Cate Campbell savaged Team USA as "sore losers," there will be plenty of bulletin board material for motivation.
Is Team USA Still Dominant in the Pool?
No country has rivaled the United States for dominance in the swimming in modern Olympic history. American swimmers have notched 257 gold medals and 579 total medals at the Summer Games, well ahead of second-place Australia’s respective 69 golds and 212 total medals.
The gap, though, has been closing more recently. At the 2020 Tokyo Games, Australia stunned the world by finishing just two medals off the pace, with Aussie Ariarne Titus upsetting American legend Katie Ledecky in the 200m and the 400m races.
RELATED: Where To Watch 2024 Paris Olympics: Complete Schedule
And Titus is continuing that momentum: The 23-year-old broke the world record for the 200m freestyle at last month’s Australian Olympic trials.
The Dolphins, as the Australian team is dubbed, earned bragging rights from a dominant showing at the 2023 World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, in which the Dolphins earned 15 gold medals to the U.S. team’s seven. Just winning golds, though, wasn’t enough for the Australians. They craved respect.
What Did Australian Star Cate Campbell Say to Anger the Americans?
The Australians took some umbrage that the leaderboard graphic for the event on NBC’s Peacock focused on overall medal count – which favored the U.S. – over the usual ranking by gold medals won – which favored Australia.
That's when Campbell took to Australia’s Today Show to air her grievances at the perceived slight.
“I mean Australia coming out on top of the world is one thing, but it is just so much sweeter beating America,” Campbell said at the time.
RELATED: Who’s on the U.S. Olympic Swimming Team?
“The first night of competition, we did not have to hear ‘Star Spangled Banner’ ring out through the stadium. I cannot tell you how happy that made me.
“If I hear that song again it will be too soon.”
Campbell continued her rant about Team USA, complaining about a cowbell used by the Americans in a warm-up area, saying the noise and the patriotic chant that follows incensed her. “I never wanted to punch someone more,” she said.
“Bring on Paris,” Campbell added. “That’s all I have to say to the U.S. Stop being sore losers.”
What Was the Fallout of Campbell's Comments?
The swimmer’s diatribe has left ripples ever since.
When shown a clip of Campbell’s interview, U.S. swimming legend Michael Phelps went off the deep end.
“If somebody said that to me, I would lose it,” Phelps, whose 23 gold medals eclipses all other swimmers in Olympic history, said in a video posted by NBCOlympics.com on Instagram. “I would make them eat every word they just said about me.”
Phelps added that Team USA should be watching the clip every day through the Paris Games for motivation. He added that similar trash talking by rivals like Australian swimmer Ian Thorpe inspired him to beat them in the pool.
“So, for the Americans, if you see what I just saw, I would watch that thing every day to give me that little extra bit of just oomph,” said Phelps.
Another legendary U.S.-swimmer-turned-television-commentator, Rowdy Gaines put the rivalry into perspective last month at a panel held on NBC’s 30 Rock.
RELATED: Olympic Swimming 2024: Where to Watch, Full Schedule
“The U.S. hates Australia until after the race and then there’s hugs and love all the way around,” he said.
“Swimming is such a huge pastime in Australia, you know? It’s like, they live and die by the sport of swimming,” Gaines explained. “So, I think they’ve always been this little brother of Team USA and because they won the gold medal count last summer for the second time in 50 years-plus, I think they have some bragging rights, as they should.”
That said, “USA has been No. 1 in the world of swimming since 1956,” Gaines said. “That’s not going to change this summer.”
Team USA will boast a powerful lineup heading into the Paris Games, led by veterans Ledecky and seven-time-gold-medalist Caeleb Dressel on the men’s side.
Campbell herself won’t be able to back up her trash talk in Paris. The four-time Olympian failed to qualify for a berth in a fifth Summer Games. The 32-year-old Campbell finished seventh in the 50-meter freestyle event at the Australian Olympic trials last month.
"Who knew a couple of comments said in jest could have stirred up all this trouble?" Campbell told Australia’s Channel 9 after the trials. "But ultimately, that's kind of what we love about sport. It's the rivalries that get everyone going that gets the fire in the belly."
