Swimming Queensland has sealed an unprecedented multimillion dollar decade-long sponsorship deal with Hancock Prospecting to ensure it can continue to develop the sport’s best talent through to the Brisbane Olympics. The partnership, announced by Swimming Queensland chief executive Kevin Hasemann on Saturday, extends a relationship with Hancock that extends back to 2012. “A crucial, indeed critical, factor in swimming’s Tokyo 2021 triumph and earlier performances at the 2016 Olympics and the 2018 and 2022 Commonwealth Games was the extremely generous financial backing of high-performance swimmers through the Hancock Prospecting Swimmer Support Scheme,” Hasemann said. “Implemented over a decade ago by Mrs. Gina Rinehart, who has been sponsoring swimming in Australia for more than 30 years, the scheme is the lifeblood of performance swimming in Australia because it enables Australia’s top swimmers to dedicate themselves fully to achieving their dreams of representing their nation at their best and with high distinction.