Australia won the most gold medals, boasted the swimmer with the most individual golds, and the female swimmer of the world championships.
Yet the United States has been presented with the award for the best team of the world championships in Japan.
Australia captured 13 gold, seven silver and five bronze medals in Fukuoka — the total of 25 is the nation’s record at a single world titles.
And the golden haul equals Australia’s best-ever return at the worlds, in 2005 and 2001 editions.
Swimming Australia head coach Rohan Taylor is bemused by the US claiming the team award presented by the sport’s governing body, World Aquatics.
The Americans won seven gold among their 38 medals, the most overall of any nation.
“The way the award is presented is on total medals, that’s the award,” Taylor said.
“We (Australia) have always looked at, and I was brought up by the Don Talbot era, that gold medals were the most important.
So from our perspective , we were the best performed team on the gold medal count.
“And when you look at the website and you look at the medal tally, we sit on top of that.
That is how I feel. But I’m not taking anything away from the US and they won the award based on the criteria that was there.”
Australian sensation Mollie O’Callaghan, departs Fukuoka with five golds — the most of any swimmer at the meet — and a silver.
Ian Thorpe (six golds in Fukuoka in 2001) holds the Australian record for a single world championships.
O’Callaghan also featured in three of Australia’s four world records in Fukuoka.
Australian backstroker Kaylee McKeown was crowned female swimmer of the year after sweeping all three golds in her pet stroke.
