Australian Team Profile
The Australian Olympic swimming team is always a strong performer at the Games, and this year will be no exception with 27 debutants heading a strong 43-person team.
The youngest of these is 16-year-old backstroking sensation Emily Seebohm, with the experience coming from team captain Grant Hackett, Ashley Callus, Adam Pine and Leisel Jones, who have all been selected for their third Games.
In the men's events, Australia's best chance of gold lies with Hackett, who will be aiming to make history in Beijing by becoming the first swimmer to win the 1500m freestyle at three consecutive Games. Hackett will also be one of the favourites to take out the 400m freestyle, where he finished second to Ian Thorpe in Athens.
Eamon Sullivan will be a warm favourite for the 50m freestyle, given that he broke Alex Popov's eight-year-old world record in March this year.
The men's relay teams are always a strong medal chance and should do well even without the experience of Michael Klim and Thorpe, who guided the 4x200m freestyle team to silver in 2004.
The women will be aiming for a massive medal haul in this year's Games, with Aussies holding six current world records. Twenty-year-old Stephanie Rice is a strong chance to get two gold medals in the 200m individual medley and the 400m individual medley. She broke both world records in the March trials, but American Katie Hoff has since broken the 400m mark.
Breaststroke superstar and world-record holder Jones will start favourite to win both the 100m and 200m events.
And of course, there's Libby Trickett who sensationally broke the 50m and 100m freestyle world records at this year's trials.
Seebohm is also a strong chance to medal in the 100m backstroke, having broken the Commonwealth record and posting the fifth-fastest time in history at the trials. The relay teams should also produce a strong showing, with many of the 2004 gold medal-winning 4x100m freestyle and 4x100m medley teams competing again.
Australia has enjoyed a fine history in Olympic swimming, collecting a total of 157 (52 gold, 51 silver, 54 bronze) medals since the first Games in 1896. Swimming has become Australia's most prolific Olympic sport, with 52 of Australia's 129 Olympic gold medals coming in the sport. Australia is second to United States in terms of total gold medals won, a remarkable feat given its small population size. In last year's Games, Australia collected seven gold, five silver and three bronze medals to be the second-most successful nation behind the USA. This is a steady improvement on the five golds achieved in Sydney in 2000.
2004 Athens Olympic Medallists:
Gold:
Ian Thorpe (400m freestyle)
Ian Thorpe (200m freestyle)
Grant Hackett (1500m freestyle)
Petria Thomas (100m butterfly)
Jodie Henry (100m freestyle)
Women's 4x100m freestyle relay (Alice Mills, Libby Lenton, Petria Thomas, Jodie Henry)
Women's 4x100m medley relay (Giaan Rooney, Leisel Jones, Petria Thomas, Jodie Henry)
Silver:
Grant Hackett (400m freestyle)
Men's 4x200m freestyle relay (Grant Hackett, Michael Klim, Nicholas Sprenger and Ian Thorpe)
Petria Thomas (200m butterfly)
Brooke Hanson (100m breaststroke)
Leisel Jones (200m breaststroke)
Bronze:
Ian Thorpe (100m freestyle)
Leisel Jones (100m breaststroke)
Libby Lenton (50m freestyle)
2000 Sydney Olympic Medallists:
Gold:
Ian Thorpe (400m freestyle)
Grant Hackett (1500m freestyle)
Susie O’Neill (200m freestyle)
Men's 4x100m freestyle relay (Ashley Callus, Chris Fydler, Michael Klim, Todd Pearson, Adam Pine and Ian Thorpe)
Men's 4x200m freestyle relay (Grant Hackett, Bill Kirby, Michael Klim, Todd Pearson, Daniel Kowalksi and Ian Thorpe)
Silver:
Ian Thorpe (200m freestyle)
Kieran Perkins (1500m freestyle)
Michael Klim (100m butterfly)
Matthew Welsh (100m backstroke)
Susie O’Neill (200m butterfly)
Leisel Jones (100m breaststroke)
Men's 4x100m medley relay (Regan Harrison, Geoff Huegill, Michael Klim, Ryan Mitchell, Adam Pine, Ian Thorpe, Josh Watson and Matthew Welsh)
Women's 4x100m medley relay (Dyana Calub, Leisel Jones, Susie O’Neill, Giaan Rooney, Sarah Ryan, Petria Thomas and Tarnee White)
Women's 4x200m freestyle relay (Susie O’Neill, Giaan Rooney, Sarah Ryan, Elka Graham, Kirsten Thomson, and Jacinta van Lint.)
Bronze:
Justin Norris (200m butterfly)
Petria Thomas (200m butterfly)
Geoff Huegill (100m butterfly)
Matthew Welsh (200m backstroke)
Australian Olympic Swimming Team:
Men:
Grant Brits - 4x100m Freestyle, 4x200m Freestyle
Leith Brodie - 200m Individual Medley
Ashley Callus - 50m Freestyle
Ashley Delaney - 100m Backstroke, 200m Backstroke
Nick Ffrost - 4x100m Freestyle, 4x200m Freestyle
Grant Hackett - 1500m Freestyle, 400m Freestyle
Ky Hurst - 10km Open Water
Andrew Lauterstein - 100m Butterfly
Kenrick Monk - 200m Freestyle
Patrick Murphy - 4x100m Freestyle, 4x200m Freestyle
Travis Nederpelt - 200m Butterfly, 400m Individual Medley
Kirk Palmer - 4x100m Freestyle, 4x200m Freestyle
Adam Pine - 100m Butterfly
Brenton Rickard - 100m Breaststroke, 200m Breaststroke
Christian Sprenger - 100m Breaststroke, 200m Breaststroke
Nicholas Sprenger - 200m Freestyle
Craig Stevens - 1500m Freestyle, 400m Freestyle
Hayden Stoeckel - 100m Backstroke, 200m Backstroke
Eamon Sullivan - 100m Freestyle, 50m Freestyle
Matt Targett - 100m Freestyle
Women:
Angie Bainbridge - 4x100m Freestyle, 4x200m Freestyle
Bronte Barratt - 200m Freestyle, 400m Freestyle
Cate Campbell - 100m Freestyle, 50m Freestyle
Alicia Coutts - 200m Individual Medley
Lara Davenport - 4x100m Freestyle, 4x200m Freestyle
Sophie Edington - 100m Backstroke
Sally Foster - 200m Breaststroke
Felicity Galvez - 4x100m Freestyle, 4x200m Freestyle
Melissa Gorman - 800m Freestyle, 10km Open Water
Samantha Hamill - 200m Butterfly, 400m Individual Medley
Belinda Hocking - 200m Backstroke
Leisel Jones - 100m Breaststroke, 200m Breaststroke
Linda Mackenzie - 200m Freestyle, 400m Freestyle
Alice Mills - 4x100m Freestyle, 4x200m Freestyle
Meagen Nay - 200m Backstroke
Kylie Palmer - 800m Freestyle
Shayne Reese - 4x100m Freestyle, 4x200m Freestyle
Stephanie Rice - 400m Individual Medley, 200m Individual Medley
Jessicah Schipper - 100m Butterfly, 200m Butterfly
Melanie Schlanger 4x100m Freestyle, 4x200m Freestyle
Emily Seebohm - 100m Backstroke
Libby Trickett - 100m Butterfly, 100m Freestyle, 50m Freestyle
Tarnee White - 100m Breaststroke