In the wake of British Swimming announcing its own Japan-based training plan leading up to Tokyo 2020, the Australian Swimming organization has also revealed where it will hold camps leading up to the next Summer Olympic Games. The green and gold Dolphins 2020 Olympic swimming squad will call the Niigata Prefectural Nagaoka Indoor Swimming Pool located in Nagaoka, Japan home, as it will be the exclusive Aussie training base in the Asian nation from 2018 to 2020.
The squad is set to participate in 3 camps over the time span, with one in 2018, one in 2019 and two in 2020. Also as part of the agreement, the Dolphins will conduct coaching clinics for local swimmers over the 3-year period.
Says Swimming Australia CEO Mark Anderson of the collaboration with Nagaoka, “As part of our planning and preparation, this partnership with Nagaoka is critical to finding a home for the Dolphins leading into 2020 and we are delighted with the announcement.
“This would not have been possible without the support of Mr Isoda, Mayor of Nagaoka City, Mr Takami, Deputy Mayor of Nagaoka City and to the many partners of Nagaoka City who have closely assisted us.
“Nagaoka is an ideal location both geographically and strategically as it is just two hours on an express train to Tokyo and we are both strongly aligned in our values and objectives to encourage the growth and development in the sport of swimming.
“Japan is an innovative sporting nation and the opportunity to be able to share knowledge with coaches, athletes and staff will be pivotal to our aim of achieving peak performance in Tokyo in four years’ time.
“I would also like to thank the Australian Trade and Investment Commission in Japan for their assistance in facilitating this partnership, their efforts have given us another opportunity to continue to develop our already strong relationship with swimming in Japan,” Anderson said.
TradeCommissioner Julianne Merriman, Tokyo said, “It has been our pleasure to assist Swimming Australia to find a training home in Japan and to be involved in the close relationship they have developed with Nagaoka City.
“Swimming is an incredibly popular sport in Japan and Australian swimmers are highly regarded by experts and passionate fans alike. Establishing a training base in Japan will not only grow the reputation of Australian swimming but also positively influence the strong bilateral connection Australia shares with Japan at all levels.”