CANBERRA Men's Under Armour UA Stephen Curry 1 MVP Mids Black White Gold , Nov. 19 (Xinhua) -- Australia's best swimmer, James Magnussen, is at loggerheads with Swimming Australia over his decision to use an untested coach to guide him through to the Rio Olympic Games.
Swimming Australia, the sport's peak body Men's Under Armour UA Stephen Curry 1 Mids Grey Black , issued a statement on Wednesday denouncing Magnussen's new training program, saying they said they would continue to fund his training but wanted a say in how the money is spent.
The 100m freestyle world champion ended his four-year partnership with Brant Best in September and has since hired young coaches Mitch and Lach Falvey as part of a new training program at Ravenswood swimming club in Sydney.
The move has not been well received by Swimming Australia's high-performance department - specifically performance director Michael Scott and national head coach Jacco Verhaeren - who are concerned about the Falveys' lack of experience at the elite level.
"Swimming Australia has announced today that it does not endorse James Magnussen's move to his new training program at Ravenswood School in Sydney, but will allocate the necessary funds to assist the swimmer's requirements for professional services," the statement read.
"We do not support the training environment James has chosen going forward and there are a range of factors that have led us to that decision and we are not about to go into them.
"But in saying that we have nothing against the young coaches Mitch and Lach Falvey - at the end of the day we respect James' right to make his own decision although we haven't got to agree with it.
"However we will still provide financial support to James. This support will need to be targeted at specific gaps that Jacco as Head Coach has identified."
Verhaeren guided Dutchman Pieter van den Hoogenband to three Olympic gold medals Men's Under Armour UA Stephen Curry 1 Mids White Royal Yellow , two in the 100m freestyle, and has been involved in many meetings with Magnussen over recent months.
He said while he was disappointed with Magnussen's decision, ultimately it was the athlete who made the final decision about his or her coach.