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Once an Olympian…

Ahead of the Australian Swimming Trials, Giaan Rooney has a message: "You're never Ex-Olympian."

Giaan Rooney has a message for everyone: Once an Olympian, always an Olympian.

“You’re never Ex-Olympian. You’re never ‘Former,'” she tells TV Tonight.

“You are always an Olympian or a Paralympian. I think that shows the gravity of what an Olympics and Paralympics means. It’s the biggest meet that we have in our sport.”

Ahead of Tokyo 2020, Australia’s elite swimming athletes go head-to-head in Adelaide for the chance to wear green and gold and represent the nation.

This year for the first time, Australian Swimming Trials will stream exclusively on Amazon Prime Video, from Saturday June 12 – Thursday June 17.

Sports broadcaster Matt White will serve as host, with veteran sports caller Jon Harker handling all the action in the pool. Commentating are Olympians all: Nicole Livingstone, Grant Hackett, with Giaan Rooney poolside and Annabelle Williams for Paralympics.

As Swimming Australia President Kieren Perkins explains, streaming the trials marks a new era for the sport.

“For all of those fans who love swimming, this is an opportunity to not only see it live, but to stream it at leisure, when you’ve got access and time.

“Throwing a little fear into our competition is never a bad thing”

“For our athletes, that’s going to be a huge bonus. In fact, we know already with the streaming that we’ve done with Amazon Prime Video our athletes love nothing more than being on deck watching themselves in replays. That kind of access and ability to see your performance is a positive for us when we go well. And throwing a little fear into our competition is never a bad thing.”

For Swimming Australia, the 6 day event is an opportunity to get future talent in front of an audience.

“One of the things that Olympic sport really does get challenged by, is that we compete once every four years. To have that opportunity to actually start to engage with an audience more regularly, to build those stories. Obviously (Amazon Prime doco series) Head Above Water is a really important part of how you create connections so that people start watching swimming.

“They want to see how Cody Simpson’s going, they want to see how Bronte is performing”

“They want to see how Kaylee McKeown’s going. They want to see how Cody Simpson’s going, they want to see how Bronte is performing -not, ‘I wonder who’s swimming today.’ That access and that ability to build those stories, to build the the connection to that audience globally, is really a watershed for our sport.”

“Interestingly, the American trials are on at the same time,” Nicole Livingston suggests. “Think about the 240 countries that this will go to. When I swam, you were always looking at the times of your opposition, either on a computer or a piece of paper. Now the opposition can actually watch it.”

This year pop singer Cody Simpson has done wonders to bring a renewed interest to the Sport.

“This guy’s not a fly-by-nighter”

According to Grant Hackett, “This guy’s not a fly-by-nighter. He’s a very good athlete. He’s already produced some very fast times. He’s already made a national final, just after a few months of training, and he’s absolutely committed. Talking to his coach overseas in the US, the guy knows how to hurt himself. He knows how to train hard, how to train like a true athlete. So he’s 100% committed.”

“They have these amazing background stories that really speak about resilience”

For Annabelle Williams it is the stories behind Paralympians she is excited to share.

“The stories are unbelievable,” she says. “We have athletes who have lost their leg to cancer. Ahmed Kelly was born in Baghdad without four of his limbs, and he was left on the side of the street in a shoe box, grew up in an orphanage and then was adopted to Australia and now represents the country. They have these amazing background stories that really speak about resilience and courage and overcoming adversity.

“They are these incredibly elite athletes. I think that really resonates with people at home if the stories are told well.”

Amazon Prime Video’s live coverage across six days will be an Australian first, with more in-depth interviews, swimming analysis and back-to-back racing, split into two halves so fans can enjoy the race action without disruption.

Each day’s broadcast will begin with the Pre-Race Show, where we’ll spend 30 minutes setting the stage for the evening ahead, previewing key races, diving into storylines, and conducting live interviews with current and past champions including James Magnussen and Jodie Henry. Giaan Rooney will catch up with Olympic champions Mack Horton and Kyle Chalmers, freestyle sensation Ariarne Titmus and backstroker Mitch Larkin, as they reveal their Olympic aspirations. For the heats from 10.30am each morning, Olympic silver medallist James Magnussen and two-time Olympian Meagen Nay will provide expert commentary, along with Olympic medallist Sarah Ryan as host and race announcer.

“Engagement with Amazon Prime Video for us is the start of an era,” says Kieren Perkins.

“We’re pretty excited to be a part of that.”

Broadcasting Schedule:

Saturday, June 12
Day One

10.30am AEST/Heats
W 100 FLY
M 400 IM
W 400 FREE (MC)
M 400 FREE (MC)
M 100 BREAST
W 400 IM
W 200 FREE (MC)
M 200 FREE (MC)
M 400 FREE

7.00pm AEST/Finals
Pre-race show
W 100 FLY
M 400 IM
W 400 FREE (MC)
M 400 FREE (MC)
M 100 BREAST
W 400 IM
W 200 FREE (MC)
M 200 FREE (MC)
M 400 FREE
The Last Lap

Sunday, June 13
Day Two

10.30am AEST/Heats
W 100 BACK
W 100 FLY (MC)
M 100 FLY (MC)
W 100 BREAST
M 50 FREE (MC)
M 100 BACK
W 400 FREE
W 50 FREE (MC)
M 50 BREAST (MC)
M 200 FREE

7.00pm AEST/Finals
Pre-race show
W 100 BACK
W 100 FLY (MC)
M 100 FLY (MC)
W 100 BREAST
M 50 FREE (MC)
M 100 BACK
W 400 FREE
W 50 FREE (MC)
M 50 BREAST (MC)
M 200 FREE
The Last Lap

Monday June 14
Day Three

10.30am AEST/Heats
W 200 IM
M 150 IM (MC)
W 200 IM (MC)
M 200 IM (MC)
M 200 FLY
W 200 FREE
M 50 BACK (MC)
M 800 FREE

7.00pm AEST/Finals
Pre-race show
W 200 IM
M 150 IM (MC)
W 200 IM (MC)
M 200 IM (MC)
M 200 FLY
W 200 FREE
M 50 BACK (MC)
M 800 FREE
The Last Lap

Tuesday June 15
Day Four

10.30am AEST/Heats
M 200 BREAST
W 100 BREAST (MC)
M 100 BREAST (MC)
W 200 FLY
M 100 FREE (MC)
W 100 FREE (MC)
M 100 FREE
W 1500 FREE

7.00pm AEST/Finals
Pre-race show
M 200 BREAST
W 100 BREAST (MC)
M 100 BREAST (MC)
W 200 FLY
M 100 FREE (MC)
W 100 FREE (MC)
M 100 FREE
W 1500 FREE
The Last Lap

Wednesday June 16
Day Five

10.30am AEST/Heats
M 200 IM
W 50 FLY (MC)
M 50 FLY (MC)
W 100 BACK (MC)
M 100 BACK (MC)
W 200 BREAST
M 200 BACK
W 100 FREE

7.00pm AEST/Finals
Pre-race show
M 200 IM
W 100 BACK (MC)
M 100 BACK (MC)
W 50 FLY (MC)
M 50 FLY (MC)
W 200 BREAST
M 200 BACK
W 100 FREE
The Last Lap  and the Paralympic Team Announcement

Thursday June 17
Day Six

10.30am AEST/Heats
W 200 BACK
M 100 FLY
W 800 FREE
W 50 FREE
M 50 FREE
M 1500 FREE

7.00pm AEST/Finals
Pre-race show
W 200 BACK
M 100 FLY
W 800 FREE
W 50 FREE
M 50 FREE
M 1500 FREE
The Last Lap  and Olympic Team Announcement

4 Responses

  1. “As Swimming Australia President Kieren Perkins explains, streaming the trials marks a new era for the sport.”
    Yes, for the first time, hardly anyone who follows swimming will be able to watch it! What a disgrace that Swimming Australia will grab a fist full of dollars to give a monopoly provider rights so very few fans can watch a truly Aussie sport.

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