Australian star swimmers arrive at Beijing

Australian star swimmers arrive at Beijing

STAND by for the arrival today of Australia's headline acts in Beijing. They bring in the gold medals and the dollars, and they are adored by the Australian public.

Make no mistake - Australia's swimmers are the rock stars of the Olympic team.

Grant, Libby, Leisel, Eamon and Stephanie - no other Australian team at the Olympics boasts as many athletes who command the profile and pulling power of Australia's swimmers.

Events of the past week at the Australian camp in Kuala Lumpur vouch for the sport's popularity in Australia.

The romance split between Eamon Sullivan and Stephanie Rice made headlines around Australia - and was picked up by news agencies around the world, while even Malaysian media wanted to know about the story of the world record-holders who called it quits.

Everyone was standing on the pool deck in Kuala Lumpur, sweating on the prize picture of our very own Posh and Becks crossing paths.

Nothing else mattered - even 16-year-old team members were asked their expert opinions about the glamour couple.

There's something that draws Australians to the pool and it's not only the Olympics - even when we win 300 medals (OK, a slight exaggeration) at a Commonwealth Games, the nation stops.

Swimming is like a religion in Australia.

Success that has produced legends such as Dawn, Shane, Kieren and "Thorpey" has built the sport's profile and rock-star status.

Ian Thorpe's aura and general demeanour is Hollywood and his cult-like status paved the way for others.

Hackett has taken Thorpe's mantle as the sport's biggest name, although Trickett, Jones, Sullivan, and Rice will boost their profiles and earning capacity if they win their first individual gold medals at the Beijing Games.

Leading Australian media buyer Harold Mitchell said Australia's love affair with our top swimmers was easily explained.

"All Australians love a winner and for more than 30 years, Australian swimmers have been winners, and we expect that to happen again at these Games," Mitchell said. "They are happy, healthy and we can associate with them easily."

Later today, the star squad will arrive in Beijing accompanied by a huge entourage, including doctors, dieticians, sports scientists and coaches.

No expense is spared on our swimmers because Australia's Olympic success is largely dependant on how many gold medals they win. Traditionally, swimming accounts for a third of Australia's medals at an Olympic Games.

But our love affair with our stars of the pool was put in perspective in the past week when English premier league heavyweight Chelsea arrived in Kuala Lumpur for an exhibition game against Malaysia.

The players stayed at the same hotel as our swimmers, the red carpet was rolled out and fans sought only the signatures of Frank Lampard and couldn't care less about Hackett and company.

Globally, Chelsea is a big-ticket item and our swimmers paled in significance.

But come Saturday night, the rock stars of the Australian Olympic team will begin an act that will have all of Australia on its feet.