Swimming development funding shortfall threatens Olympic dreams, coaches say

Australia Broadcast Center

3 hours ago

As Australia celebrates its World Championship swimming success, there are fresh warnings that the next generation of winners is not getting the support it needs.
Swimming Queensland's chief executive Kevin Hasemann said there were about 600 teenagers in the state's development programs, but the majority were not receiving any financial support to cover competition and training costs in the lead-up to Brisbane's 2032 Olympics.
"I expect the Australian public would be as mystified and disheartened as we are that several billions of dollars will be spent on Games-related infrastructure, including a new aquatics facility," Mr Hasemann said.
"But little, if anything, is going to the junior swimmers who face the herculean challenge of replacing our current batch of Olympic and Paralympic medallists."
Mr Hasemann said government funding was available, but it was mostly limited to elite athletes.
He said Swimming Queensland was relying on donations from Australia's richest woman, Gina Rinehart, to run development programs.
Mr Hasemann said he asked the Queensland government for about $500,000 a year to help young swimmers in the lead-up to the Brisbane Games.
But he has not had any luck.
"The sad thing about this is that when the penny drops, it can be far too late," he said.
"Because the work needs to be happening right now. Seven years for a young athlete is a very short period of time. You can't afford to get it wrong."
Luca Widmer, 17, is one of the athletes in Swimming Queensland's development program.
He trains for 18 hours a week with his club at Caloundra, north of Brisbane, juggling that with year 12 studies.
"I've had the dream of competing at the Olympics my entire life," he said.
"I know that road ahead is long and it's tough, but I know that if I want it badly enough and I have the right support, anything is possible."
For up-and-coming swimmers like Luca, travelling to competitions and paying for top trainers is crucial.
But his mother Leanne Bullemor said proud parents like her were doing most of the financial heavy lifting.
"Over the last 12 months, just looking at the financial side of things, with my two boys competing in development programs, it would have cost $20,000 for me to support them," she said.
"That's just the training fees, the membership fees, the competition fees I have to pay."
Ms Bullemor said local clubs and Swimming Queensland were doing the best they could with what they had.
But she said state and federal governments should do more to help.
"Our state is very proud. We're an extremely proud swimming state," she said.
Luca is training in the same pool that launched Olympic gold medallist Kaylee McKeown's career.
His swimming coach Theo Fuchs, who trained for the Olympics in France, pointed out Australia's toughest opponents in the pool, the United States and China, would not be waiting for us to catch up.
"We need more money for swimmers, we need more money for coaches," he said.
"If you look at the top countries in the world, they are supported by money, and if you want to be doing good consistently, then you have to have that support."
The Queensland government didn't respond to questions about whether it would deliver on Swimming Queensland's development funding request.
But, in a statement, a spokesperson for the state's Minister for the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tim Mander said more than $5 million would be spent on high-performance swimmers in the lead-up to the Los Angeles Olympics and Paralympics in 2028.
The federal government didn't respond.