Australia's master swim coach Michael Bohl has taken a job in China after reversing a decision to take an extended break from the sport.
Bohl had overseen the storied careers of some of Australia's most successful swimmers, including Emma McKeon and Kaylee McKeown.
But he stepped away after last year's Paris Olympics, citing the need to take a year-long break.
Five months later, the 61-year-old has accepted a role with the Chinese Swimming Association as an adviser at high-performance centres in Beijing and Shanghai.
The move was met with disappointment, but understanding, by Swimming Australia (SA).
"Michael has been influential on the sport's biggest stage for more than three decades," SA said in a statement.
"And while disappointed to lose a coach of his calibre, Michael's international experience and global learnings will always be welcomed back on pool deck.
"Swimming Australia's high performance structure and coaching support is world leading and as such will continue to attract international attention."
Chinese swimming has been under an intense spotlight since it was revealed 23 swimmers from China were allowed to compete at the Tokyo Olympics of 2021 despite testing positive to banned substances earlier that year.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) accepted the findings of a Chinese investigation that the positive results were due to contamination from a team hotel kitchen.
An independent investigation was launched and found WADA did not mishandle or show favouritism to China, while a separate audit from World Aquatics concluded there was no mismanagement or cover-up by swimming's governing body.
The new role for Bohl, who has coached Australian swimmers at the past eight Olympics, continues a trend of rivals pinching the nation's best coaches.
Legendary swim coach Dennis Cotterell, a close friend of Bohl, has a long association in China, including at last year's Paris Olympics.
Also at the Paris Games, Australia's renowned hockey tacticians Alyson Annan and Ric Charlesworth were the head coach and assistant coach of China's women's hockey team.
In cycling, Australians Gary Sutton (US) and Cameron Meyer (Great Britain) also coached other nations in Paris.
The drain of Australia's coaching talent was a cause of concern for Australia's Olympic chef de mission Anna Meares.
"We need the good coaches, we need the good support staff," Meares said at the end of the Paris Games in August.
"And often we can lose them to opportunities with other countries where they are offered better pay, better conditions.
"So we need to look after the staff who support the athletes ... it's not just providing infrastructure, it's not just funding the athletes and sports.
"It's ensuring we keep our Aussie coaches, we keep our Aussie staff, that really the world are looking to."
