'USA! USA! USA!': American fans mock Australian swimmers

A war of words before Paris 2024 between Australia and the US swim teams has ended in a USA victory, with the Americans taking 8 golds to the Aussies 7, per the Olympics website.

US fans turned the tables on Australia with some brutal comments online, with one writing, "Haw haw Australia, The US is now beating you in GOLD MEDAL count too, suckas. Australia has a one sided beef going on with the US this whole time and we've just found out about it. I thought swimming was your thing, Oz!," on X (formerly Twitter) per The Daily Mail.

Another decided to add insult to injury, writing, "Probably one of the worst Olympics for USA swimming and we still got more golds than Australia."

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Another fan referenced Cate Campbell's comments about the Star Spangled Banner last year, writing, "Sorry Aussies, but you are going to hear one more star-spangled banner. Americans win the gold medal total in the pool!"

With Olympic swimming over for another four years, both nations can go back to celebrating their individual triumphs without worrying too much about Olympic totals, but given the significance of the rivalry, it's worth taking a look at the genesis of the rivalry!

Not only is this rivalry perfect for lovers of anagrammatic abbreviations, it was also set up to be one of the fiercest at the 2024 Olympics. Australia hadn’t beaten the US in the Olympic swimming medal charts since the 1956 games in Melbourne, but with a team set up to compete in nearly every event, this could have been the year American swimming is toppled.

Australian coach, Rohan Taylor, told reporters, "This team is going to give it a good shake," but noted the team is wary of US as, "They have got the depth, they've got the numbers, they've got the experience," per ESPN.

Australia toppled the US in last years’ World Championships, winning 13 golds to the US’ seven and with some dominant performances at the Aussie Olympic swim trials, Taylor was hopeful they can replicate that form.

The Australian swim trials produced some of the best performances from their athletes, with Ariarne Titmus breaking the 200m freestyle world record last month, per NBC Sport. Titmus famously upset Katie Ledecky in both the 200 and 400m events in Tokyo.

Aussie swimming legend Cate Campbell did nothing to dispel any notion of a rivalry following her nation’s sublime performance at the World Championships, telling Australia’s Today Show, "I mean Australia coming out on top of the world is one thing, but it is just so much sweeter beating America."

Campbell continued, firing a shot across the US’ bow, "The first night of competition, we did not have to hear ‘Star Spangled Banner’ ring out through the stadium. I cannot tell you how happy that made me. If I hear that song again it will be too soon."

The US swim team acts, for good reason, like the school yard bullies, knowing they are bigger, stronger, and more successful than everyone else, making Campbell's comments certainly struck a nerve. Swimming legend Michael Phelps responded, saying, "If somebody said that to me, I would lose it, I would make them eat every word they just said about me," per NBC Olympics.

Campbell’s comments were as much in jest as they were serious, but as former gold medallist Rowdy Gaines pointed out, "Rivalry is important to Americans. It’s the epitome of sports attraction here, and we don’t really have many rivalries in swimming."

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