No matter how fate looks upon James Magnussen at the Australian swimming championships starting in Sydney on Friday, he has pledged to remain loyal to his largely untested new coaching team all the way to the Olympics in Rio next year.
The championships, to be held at the Olympic Aquatic Centre in Homebush, double as the selection trials for the Australian team to compete at the world championships in Russia in August, where Magnussen, 23, hopes to win a third 100-metre freestyle gold medal.
The nationals, in which Magnussen will race the 50m and 100m freestyle, are also a key stepping stone for any aspiring Olympian for next year's Games.
But with the Games so close, Magnussen says there is not enough time – nor the inclination – to make any change to his coaching team of brothers Mitch and Lach Falvey and the new structure he has around him.
"When I committed to the team I committed for a two-year period," Magnussen said on Thursday. "I backed them and put my trust and confidence in them for that time period.
"Even if we don't get the results immediately I really believe they will come because I am really a big believer in what we are doing and the sort of set up I have got."
Magnussen does not speak lightly of his change. He knows risk came with his decision in September last year to split with long-time coach Brant Best at the NSW Institute of Sport and under whom he had won the 100m world title in 2011 and 2013 and Olympic silver in 2012.
That his change was made without Swimming Australia's approval added weight to the challenge. And he admits he has entered the unknown.
"Having been in the same program for five years we had very set training protocols that we went through leading up to a major meet that would tell me – give or take a little bit of time – where I am at," Magnussen said.
"Now it's a whole new program. We don't have any benchmarks from years of working together. It's pretty much a clean slate.
"I feel good physically and mentally, but I don't really know where my times are at."
Sure, Magnussen wants to win – over the next week at the nationals, at the world titles and then at the Rio Games.
But he is also keen to try to show that a program outside the SA umbrella can work.
"The structures around swimming in Australia are so rigid and old school," Magnussen said.
"It'd be good for people to see if you can or can't succeed outside one of those programs."
Besides now training at Ravenswood School for Girls in Sydney, where the Falvey brothers are employed, Magnussen has made other changes in his support team and program.
While still aligned with mind doctor John Novak who works at the Canterbury Bulldogs NRL club and with other elite athletes, Magnussen has a new team of experts in nutrition, strength and conditioning, physiotherapy, diet and psychology.
His training week is built on nine swimming sessions in the pool. But he also does three in the gym and has added sessions in conditioning, physiotherapy, massage and Pilates.
And for his efforts, Magnussen has lost up to five kilograms in body weight.
"It has been refreshing. That has been a lot of fun," he said.
"Trying to master something different takes a bit of time and effort. It also diverts the concentration away from the pool a little."
How Magnussen is tracking will not be clear until Monday morning's heats of the 100m, for which the finals will be on Tuesday night.
But the titles will not be short of excitement before then, starting on Friday with the women's and men's 400m freestyle events – of which the latter will see triple Australian champion David McKeon face a tough field including Mack Horton and former world champion Grant Hackett.
FACT BOX
Australian swimming titles
Key finals for Friday – Day 1 (from 6.30pm)
400m freestyle – men
400m freestyle – women
