As the nation watches its sporting stars Grant Heugill and Leisel Jones head off to New Delhi for the 19th Commonwealth Games, we ask – why do Australians excel at swimming?

Is it Australia’s instrumental role in developing swimming’s fastest stroke – freestyle, formerly (and deceptively) known as the Australian Crawl. Or is it the psyche of an Australian athlete’s mind – an insight shared by former Olympian John Konrad on the first ever Four Corners program in 1961.

Those of us with a competitive streak grew up participating in surf lifesaving carnivals. In old newsreel reports, sharks were called the 'silent terror of the deep’ and this may well be the real reason why we’ve learnt to swim so fast. View the titles below and find out why Aussies win international swimming events.