The Australian Olympic team is "perilously close to the worst medal haul" in 28 years, according to David Riccio of the Sydney DAILY TELEGRAPH. Not for the first time at a Games, the Australian sailing team "produced a last-ditch rescue mission to prop-up the Australian medal tally, which is unlikely to surpass London’s total of 35 medals." The "level of disappointment and failure to turn contenders into champions across the majority of the Australian team will lead to deserved criticism and pressure" on Australian Sports Commission Chair John Wylie, who headed up the ASC’s "controversial Winning Edge strategic plan after the London games four years ago." Wylie said that the Winning Edge funding model "would deliver a top-five finish in Rio." However, the majority of the Australian team has so far been "unable to deliver, suffering from a string of near-misses, world-class stage fright and poorly coached athletes in Rio." The "poor showing has been underlined by the inability" of most teams, particularly hockey, to progress through to the medal rounds (DAILY TELEGRAPH, 8/17).
BACKTRACKING: In Brisbane, Robert Craddock wrote not even an 11th hour Gold Medal "scramble could alter the reality that Australia has some serious questions to ask about its sporting future." These "were supposed to be the rebound Games." Instead the message is that "many Australia’s Olympic sports have stagnated and, some like hockey, have gone worryingly backwards" (COURIER-MAIL, 8/17).
