THE Australian swimming team’s performance in Rio was good. We won more gold medals than we did in London. But it should have been better.

Yes, the culture of the team has improved immensely and, from the outside, the environment seems to be heading in the right direction. But much more needs to be done to get our athletes physically and mentally prepared for the competition that now matters most: the next Olympic Games.

With the flame going out in Rio this week, many athletes are now faced with three options. They can retire, keep swimming with their current coach or carry on but change up their environment.

Deciding to keep swimming can seem a simple decision to make but the real challenge is finding the motivation to keep going and, most importantly, the funding to keep swimming for the next four years.

One of the biggest regrets I had in my swimming career was not capitalising on an opportunity that can help with both those things - basing myself in either Europe or the US, to train with some of my main competitors in an international squad.

Australia's Kyle Chalmers with his gold medal, something Australia wants more of at Tokyo 2020. Source: AFP

Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with living and training here with our Australian coaches. Without doubt, it’s one of the best environments in the world.

But a common theme emerged from our swimmers in Rio: many were under-prepared to deal with the pressure of expectations.

You can’t substitute for experience, especially at the elite level.

Many Australian coaches will sell the dream to keep swimming with them and suggest that “together we can conquer the world.”

However, very few coaches will provide the advice to gain worldly experience by basing yourself away from Australia.

In my opinion, there are far more pros than cons for this decision.

My advice to athletes today is that if you truly want to match it with the best in the world, you need to get out there and train with them. Get as much racing as possible with the very best.

There are two ways of doing it. Live the ‘endless summer’ and train for half the year in Europe or the US and the other half in Australia (which most coaches won’t go for). Or, base yourself for a minimum period of two years with a squad overseas.

If you are eligible to gain a spot at a distinguished university swim team in the US, I would seriously look at taking that option.

Cate Campbell was sensational in the relays but not as 100m favourite. Source: News Corp Australia

The experience you would gain from racing in the NCAA system would far surpass the competition here in Australia. And if your worst case scenario was walking away from swimming with a free education at Stanford, Texas, Auburn or Berkeley to name a few, then isn’t that one of the best pathways to life after sport?

As an athlete you are often torn between a rock and a hard place. You realise you need experiences like this but how do you fund it?

Your funding from Swimming Australia (SA) is limited, and not every athlete is fortunate to derive an income from sponsorship. Most athletes are on less than the minimum wage.

To gain access to Swimming Australia funding you need to race at certain SA meets over a 12-month period, so the cost of travelling back and forth from the US or Europe can be expensive.

Coaches know this, which is why they commonly have a better bargaining position over an athlete. Because of this, an athlete may suffer.

Katie Ledecky, a Stanford swimmer, was untouchable at Rio 2016. Source: AFP

Losing a strong athlete means that the coach loses bragging rights and credibility on pool deck, along with assistance paying their bills.

In addition, as an athlete you become the ‘black sheep’ if you stray from current system, even if that system is in a rebuilding phase.

One could argue that Swimming Australia has been in a rebuilding phase ever since 2001 when Don Talbot was dumped as head coach.

Sometimes it’s up to the athlete to make the hard choice. One of the best things about being an athlete is that you are ingrained with the mentality to accept it, own it and conquer it.

You cannot change the past, you live it, learn from it and have the power to put better strategies and plans in place to achieve better outcomes next time.

For those athletes who decide it’s time to change things up, my suggestion is to use the next 18 months to put a strong strategy in place that gives you the best opportunity to race more on that international level.

Because the more you race your key competitors, the better placed you will be when it matters most - at Tokyo 2020.