Sailor to lead Swimming Australia

After a year to forget, Swimming Australia tapped into one of the nation's greatest triumphs by appointing America's Cup-winning sailor John Bertrand as its new president yesterday.

The dual Olympian replaces Barclay Nettlefold, who resigned in June after just eight months in the job when he was accused of making an inappropriate remark to a female team consultant.

That was just one of a string of negative incidents that have dogged the body since the swimming powerhouse slumped to its lowest Olympic medal haul in 20 years at last year's London Games.

Bertrand was skipper of Australia II when it won the America's Cup in 1983, ending 132 years of United States dominance of the yacht racing challenge.

"I've had an association with high-performance sport and high-performance teams for more than 40 years and this appointment is one of the highlights of my career," the 66-year-old said in a statement.

"Swimming has a proud history in this country and a reputation for hard work, humility and success. This tradition needs to continue and be a clear focus for all athletes and coaches as we head towards [the] Rio [Olympics] in 2016."