Australia needs to punch above its weight to retain its role as understudy superpower, Alan Thompson, head Dolphins coach, told ABC in an appeal for more funding.

The Dolphins have so far been able to cope well for a nation with a relatively small population compared to several other leading swim nations but competition across the world grows ever deeper and wider, Thompson noted. 'I think we're at the crossroads in sport in Australia. We need to make some major changes on the way we fund high-performance sport if we are to compete with the 300 million people from America or the 1.3 billion people from China,' Thompson told ABC.

Thompson was confident of success in Beijing but warned: 'We can go to Beijing and I'm confident that we can have a good Olympic Games, but it may mask underlying issues that are occurring through no further increases in high-performance funding.'

His point is well made, though there are many nations who will doubtless be tempted to break into hysterical laughter at the thought of their own swimming budgets compared to the resources available to the Dolphins, both from the national treasury of taxpayers and the treasury provided by the hand that made all we survey.