It’s the nature of Track Cycling as well. He couldn’t move to Manchester but remain in the Australian Team. If it was a sport wheee he could train away but still easily compete it might have not happened.
I believe His Majesty the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland will perhaps suggest mercy to His Majesty the King of Australia. His Mjaesty the King of Canada may wish to intercede at some point, I wonder if he has the other Kings' numbers...
Yeah, funding is not the argument to make here. Hindes from Germany was a better example of that. The guy clearly had 'split loyalties' pretty much all along - he moved aged 9, so he already probably had some small sense of identity (football support etc) before he moved, he was clearly thinking of moving 'back' as it were as early as 19. Having a GB girlfriend has probably just made all the bits fit for now - he wants to be with her, he's automatically entitled to pull on GB vest, he was harbouring feelings about it anyway. Frankly it was pretty decent of him to see out the cycle with Oz and give them a good return in two cycles.
Australia has over 100 Olympic sized swimming pools, almost all open to the public. It's absolutely imbedded in aussie culture.
Do some aussies dope? Sure, ever country has that, but some countries do also care a LOT about certain sports on a cultural level. I'm not sure aussie swimming is the best example.
Yeah, the way I see it, is that he is equally proud to be British and Australian and was always intending to compete for both nations at some point in his career. I would assume that, given he has started dating Finucane , he thought he would speed up that process and hope to give himself a kickstart into the GB set up.