and the purge to end all purges Facing the music: Disgraced relay team members Cameron McEvoy, James Magnussen and Eamon Sullivan. Issue of the year They went from gold-medal favourites to a national disgrace before the Games in London had even begun. But the public only heard dribs and drabs about the conduct of the men's 4x100-metre relay team until team member Jade Neilsen spoke up about behaviour "so inappropriate it was not funny" at the team's pre-Games training camp in Manchester. The Bluestone review had outlined the "toxic culture" of the swimming team in London, where only one gold medal was won. However, the bombshell soon dropped when, at an extraordinary media conference in late February, Eamon Sullivan, Matt Targett, James Magnussen, James Roberts, Tommaso D'Orsogna and Cameron McEvoy were publicly shamed. Five of the "Stilnox Six" - Roberts was the exception - admitted taking the sleeping drug, which had been expressly banned by the Australian Olympic Committee. Further stories emerged about late-night door-knocking and crank-calling teammates after the Manchester bonding session. Sacked head coach: Leigh Nugent. By April, a Swimming Australia investigation ended with the swimmers being docked part of their athlete support payments and receiving suspended sentences. Another report was commissioned by the Australian Olympic Committee. It concluded in August that the swimmers' "boorish, selfish, obnoxious and disrespectful" behaviour warranted provisions to exclude each from eligibility for the Rio Games in 2016 if they were to again "bring themselves or their sport into disrepute" at any time in the ensuing three years. President John Coates said the AOC also reserved the right to activate a financial penalty of up to $150,000 to cover the cost of the inquiry. Much of the blame in the AOC report was laid at the feet of team management. It led to a clean-out of officials and an attempt to restore a positive culture in Australian swimming. The winners Alicia Coutts could feel a little peeved for missing out here after her five-medal haul in London and carrying her fine form into the new year. But Cate Campbell's effort in overcoming adversity is as good as it gets. Campbell returned from a terrible string of injuries and setbacks to become the 100m freestyle world champion in Barcelona in August. Campbell had been struck by hip problems, glandular fever and fatigue and had her Olympics experience ruined by illness. But she kept going and has consolidated her world championship with further good results. Campbell's comeback was echoed by James Magnussen, who recovered from his London disappointment by becoming the men's 100m freestyle world champion to make it an Australian double with Campbell. World champion: Cate Campbell. The losers Our swimmers were the public face of an upheaval in the sport after our worst Olympics result in decades, but the root of the problem was traced back to Swimming Australia. In fact, the governing body was pounded with criticism and ended up being swept out in preparation for a new era. Various reports and investigations into what happened before and during the London Olympics found preparation had been mismanaged, communication broke down and essential services, such as psychologists and welfare officers, were not available for the athletes. Casualties included head coach Leigh Nugent, chief executive Kevin Neil, president David Urquhart and his successor Barclay Nettlefold. An overhaul was implemented and new faces given the task of rebuilding, headed by chief executive Mark Anderson and high-performance manager Michael Scott. Nicole Livingstone joined the board and teams now travel with an integrity officer and team psychologist. The 'dropped my bacon sandwich' moment It's a toss-up as to which was the bigger surprise - Barclay Nettlefold standing down or John Bertrand taking his place. In June came the bizarre news that Nettlefold, who was elected president the previous October to fix Swimming Australia's problems, had made inappropriate comments to a female staff member at the national titles in Adelaide in April. An investigation was launched, but when another staff member made a similar complaint, Nettlefold stood aside, alleging he was the victim of a witch-hunt. In late August, America's Cup-winning sailor Bertrand was named president, despite having no expertise in swimming. "I want to help rebuild the team culture by having everyone buying into it," he said. You get great culture by tuning into the values of honesty, integrity, passion and having fun. The name we didn't know before this year Anyone with a slight interest in swimming would have heard of Dutch champions Pieter van den Hoogenband and Inge de Bruijn. Fewer would have heard of their coach. But Jacco Verhaeren will be around for a while after being appointed as Australian head coach. The name we'll be talking about at end of next year While we love winning the sprints and relays, the most authentic Australian swimming tradition is in the distance events. And, if Mack Horton sticks to the path he's on, that tradition is set for a great new chapter. At the junior world championships in Dubai in August, Horton won five gold medals, sweeping the freestyle events over 200, 400, 800 and 1500 metres.