Stephanie Rice, who was the star of Beijing 2008, winning three gold medals in swimming, is being snubbed this Olympics in favour of comeback athletes.
|Last Updated: Mar 13, 2012, 08:19 PM IST|Source: Bureau
Melbourne: Stephanie Rice, who was the star of Beijing 2008, winning three gold medals in swimming, is being snubbed this Olympics in favour of comeback athletes.
Rice, 23, is the missing superstar from Australia’s promotional material for the Olympic selection trials starting in Adelaide on Thursday.
Eight swimmers were used for the advertisements, including comeback heroes Ian Thorpe, Libby Trickett and Geoff Huegill.
New world champion James Magnussen features prominently, as expected, while other team members Alicia Coutts, Eamon Sullivan, Leisel Jones and Kylie Palmer are also present as 2011 world title medallists.
But the absence of Rice, the darling of the pool in Beijing in 2008 who has become one of the most well known swimming personalities, is glaring.
The snub, however, is not a Swimming Australia oversight. It is a consequence of the governing body’s decision to pay the comeback athletes more than the existing stars.
The perception that the returning heroes are being paid significantly more than existing stars of the sport to support their campaigns has reportedly split the team.
It is believed that Thorpe has an agreement worth close to 150,000 dollars with SA while Trickett and Klim each have deals worth 50,000 dollars. Rice was offered less than 12,000 dollars after a year interrupted by shoulder troubles, the Daily Telegraph reported.
The paltry sum is believed to have upset the medley swimmer, who refused to sign her athlete agreement, leaving SA unable to use her image for any promotional appearances.
Head coach Leigh Nugent refused to confirm whether the likes of Thorpe, Trickett and Michael Klim were being paid more than current team members.
“It’s very hard to say what everyone gets, it varies. It’s been tailored to the athletes’ individual preparation and needs,” Nugent said.
He denied the comeback stars had received preferential treatment or that there was any friction within the team.
“If assisting athletes to prepare in their daily training environment is favouritism then we’re favouring an awful lot of athletes. We’ve probably got 50 or 60 athletes in that category.”
“Guys like Libby and Ian who are historically just unbelievable producers for us. I think it’s probably the right thing to do to help these guys. I can only see positives in this. I think you’d be a pretty ungrateful Australian to not assist our proven best performers,” he added.
ANI
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.
Cookies Setting
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device and the processing of information obtained via those cookies (including about your preferences, device and online activity) by us and our commercial partners to enhance site navigation, personalise ads, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. More information can be found in our Cookies and Privacy Policy. You can amend your cookie settings to reject non-essential cookies by clicking Cookie Settings below.
Manage Consent Preferences
Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work or you may not be able to login.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advert as well as help measure the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we may not know when you have visited our site, and may not be able to monitor its performance.