Former Aussie Olympian James Magnussen slams Australian Olympic Committee for treating swim team like 'hired guns'

Former world champion James Magnussen has slammed Australia's Olympic officials for treating swimmers as "hired guns" by removing them from the athletes' village 48 hours after their final races. 

Magnussen won gold, silver, and bronze medals at the Olympic Games in 2012 and 2016. He also secured the title of 100m freestyle world champion in 2011 and 2013. Magnussen retired from competitive swimming in 2019.

He lashed the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) ahead of the Paris competition, where Australian swimmers are expected to win a significant number of gold medals.

The AOC angered swimmers by informing them they could only stay in the village for 48 hours after their events before being required to either fly home or find their own accommodation in Paris.

On the first episode of the Matty and the Missile' podcast with Matty Johns, Magnussen fumed that this policy shows a blatant disregard for the sacrifices swimmers make, denying them the opportunity to properly celebrate.

'I can only speak from a swimmer's perspective,' he told the podcast. 

'It feels to me like this swim team are hired guns. You come in late, no opening ceremony, straight into the swimming, we expect seven to nine gold medals, you finish competing, off you go.

'No closing ceremony, no Olympic life, you can't make the most of the food hall and eat the things you wish you could have. All those things that are the Olympic experience gone.'

 'As soon as they finish competing they have 48 hours to be out of here,' Magnussen continued.

'If they want on their own dime they can stay in Paris and on their own dime come back to Paris for the closing ceremony and there will be a bed for them for that night.

'I got to thinking, 'If Titmus does what I think she will do, back to back Olympics, gold in the 200m and 400m, she has to be our (closing ceremony) flag bearer. I went along to swimming press conference.

'What (Australian chef de mission) Anna Meares has said is no special treatment, Ariarne will be out of the village. She won't hedge her bets.

'If she is asked to carry the flag in the opening ceremony it is up to her to make her way back to the village and represent our nation carrying the flag.'

 Magnussen is also the first athlete in the world to sign up for the Enhanced Games, founded by Australian entrepreneur Aron D'Souza.

The Aussie swimmer will be paid $1.5million to take part in the competition which not only allows performance enhancing drugs, but encourages them. 

'I have kept myself in reasonable shape in retirement,' Magnussen said previously.

'They [Enhanced Games] have said they have a billion-dollar person backing them.

'If they put up $1m for the 50 freestyle world record, I will come on board as their first athlete.

'I'll juice to the gills and I'll break it in six months.'