Outgoing performance director Deryk Snelling admitted yesterday that Britain's swimmers would go down as the ''bums'' of the pool in Sydney after they failed to win a single medal.
The 41-strong squad, regarded as the strongest ever, will return home empty handed from a Games for the first time since the Olympics in Berlin in 1936.
''We will pay the price of not winning medals and will be seen as bums, it's as simple as that,'' said Snelling. ''I knew it would be difficult to win medals because we were not ranked in the top three of any event, but I really did think we might get a couple of hits in the relays.
''We came close in the women's sprint relay and the men's 800m relay but missing out there and with Paul Palmer not getting one in the 400m freestyle at the top of the week we lost our momentum.
Snelling, who will be succeeded by Bill Sweetenham later in the year, added: ''Britain have come on as a nation. We have done a quick calculation and the times we did here would have got us one gold, two silvers, and two bronzes in Atlanta and a whole load of kids in the finals.
''But the world of swimming has gone crazy. There were 15 world records here and 30 Olympic ones. Swimming has gone to a new high and we're not there, not yet anyway.''
While the Sydney International Aquatic Centre saw the likes of Holland and Italy challenge the dominance of the USA and the hosts, Britain's hopefuls played the bit-part.
Just three men made it into an individual final while Alison Sheppard was the only female to make a medal decider.
There were a clutch of British records from the relays teams, but just two individual national records were broken by Palmer and Olympic debutant Georgina Lee.
''If I was to be judged just on this one meet, I would be devastated,'' added Snelling, who took over after the Games in 1996 saying his aim was to win every gold medal in Sydney.
''I think I should be judged by what I have done overall. I think I have put Britain on the road to being a stronger nation and put in place what needed to be done.
''It was a tall order expecting us to be successful here when we have only had lottery money for two-and-a-half years. It took Australia a lot longer than that.
''We are on the right track, but we have just got to bide our time. We might never be the top nation, but we should have more success in Athens in 2004 and if not then, soon after.
''I feel very sorry for the kids in the team who thought they just had to produce their best and that would be it.
''It is galling, but we will just have to accept we were made to look like bums here.''
nThe jockeys in the weighing room at Randwick racecourse stop to watch the action.
Down by the harbour in Sydney, a thousand pairs of eyes blink against the sun and gaze anxiously up at the big television screen.
On the train coming into town, the driver announces the winner - a huge cheer went up. Grant Hackett has triumphed. His demons are conquered.
Written off all week, rumoured to be on the point of pulling out, Hackett finally rose to the occasion to dethrone fellow-Australian Kieren Perkins and capture the cherished 1500 metres swimming crown on Saturday.
The tears flowed. ''I did it. I did it. I did it,'' he proclaimed as he bear-hugged his father, Nev, a police detective.
His dad broke down, too. ''I couldn't hold back. All I could say back to him was 'I love you'.''
For Hackett's family had brought him back from the abyss of self-doubt. ''There were moments when I thought it was not my time and I might have to wait for another four years,'' he said.
Yesterday, the 20-year-old woke to banner headlines. He was the superstar. In a land where swimming is king, Maurice Greene's magnificent run to 100 metres gold on the track took second place.
When Hackett's world seemed to be collapsing and his form appeared to desert him, the Australian swimming team opted for the family solution to try and get the Gold Coast surf lifesaver back on track.
''They did something that I don't know if they have done before,'' said his brother, Craig. ''They let mum, dad, and I to go and see Grant. It was pretty emotional but after that he was a lot better.''
Girlfriend Tammy Semionov, a student with her fingernails patriotically painted green and yellow, sent him a message on her mobile: ''Hey baby, I love you heaps. You are a world champion.''
Asked if he had finally emerged from the shadow of the mighty dual gold medallist Perkins, Hackett breathed a sigh of relief and said: ''Yeah, that's exactly right. I knew it was going to take either a world record or an Olympic gold medal.''
Australia grinds to a halt each year in November to watch the Melbourne Cup horse race.
This time it was the Hackett-Perkins clash that stopped a sports-mad nation in its tracks.
Rating figures showed eight million people saw the race on television - that made it the most watched sporting event in Australian history.
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