SYDNEY: Australia dives into do-or-die Olympic swimming trials at Adelaide on Saturday with question marks swirling around the form of some top names and shock waves reverberating over the withdrawal of dual silver-medallist Maddie Groves. Swimming has long been the medal-winning backbone of the country, which claimed 10 in the pool at the 2016 Games in Rio, matching its feat from London four years earlier. But those performances were down on the 20 won at Beijing in 2008 and hopes are high the team can edge back towards those lofty heights in Japan next month. One swimmer who will not be competing is Groves, a two-time silver medallist at Rio, who pulled out this week blaming “misogynistic perverts in sport and their boot lickers”. The target of her comments was not clear and Swimming Australia said it had not received any official complaints. “We haven’t been able to talk to her directly and go through her concerns to find out what’s going on,” SA president Kieren Perkins said Friday. As for matters in the pool, SA has set the bar high at the six-day trials — to qualify, athletes must match or better the time needed to make the final at the 2019 world championships. Head coach Rohan Taylor said he had been impressed so far. “The past 12 months and the lead up to the Australian swimming trials has no doubt been a challenging time for our swimmers and coaches, but I’m proud of the way they have learnt to adapt and gain yet another level of resilience,” he said. “What is most pleasing, is that even though the athletes have had to overcome these hurdles along the way, we’ve seen solid performances and times at recent events.”