Culture is a complex, multi-faceted and multi-layered phenomenon that is socially learned and transmitted between people. It is about behaviours, beliefs, symbols, norms and expectations. It grows over time and can be directed and shaped with strong leadership and sound methodologies. The findings of this review were that cultural factors did play a significant role in the `unpleasant` experience that many Australian swimmers, coaches and staff had at the London Olympics in 2012 and the culture did not appear to assist or support high-level performance for most people. Realistically there was no single headline problem and no single `bad apple` in London. Neither did things just `fall apart` all of a sudden in London. It seems instead there was a confluence of circumstances that built up over a couple of years and were not adequately foreseen or addressed by the leadership at Swimming Australia. The result was that in the midst of an Olympic Games that was widely regarded as excellent, the Australian swim team were considered underperformers and culturally questionable. It seems that the most significant issue in swimming was the quietly growing lack of focus on people across the board. Participants reported that in the zealous and streamlined attempts to obtain gold medals, the delicate management of motivation, communication and collaboration were lost. The `science` of winning appeared to whitewash the `art` of leadership. Winning was viewed too mechanistically and the value of quality relationships, respect and shared experience was underrated. There were some specific events and circumstances that brought issues to a head in London, many of which speak to the greater underlying themes on culture and leadership within swimming. There had been a greater priority placed on individual preparation schedules for swimmers at the athletes` and coaches` requests and the head coach`s agreement. This was seen as a response to both the rigid structures previously experienced, where an all-group schedule did not necessarily allow optimal high performance programs for each competitor across different event disciplines, and also some feelings of being tired, bored and over-saturated with meetings, regimens and the `all in` camp style. Both athletes and coaches wanted and needed something fresh and this came in the form of increased flexibility to run individual or small group preparations in different locations and at different times. This strategy had many upsides for the individuals, but also many downsides for the team.
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