On debut in the national team, Bailey won her 400-metre women’s individual medley heat and was seventh in the final in a personal best time of 4:41.46. She then finished fourth in the 200m IM heat to make the final, where she was eighth. 

“It was unreal, it was awesome,” Bailey told the Herald.

“My goal was just to get into the final and I was able to do that twice, and that home crowd was just awesome.”

The Ohio State University athlete competed in college meets either side of returning to Australia for the Games trials and she believed the workload told in the 200m IM.

“This was my fourth taper meet in about eight weeks so I’ve had a lot of racing, so maybe I was a bit fatigued,” she said.

“But I was really happy with my 400. I did a PB in my heat and the final, so I can’t complain about that.

“My coach, Bill Dorenkott, really thought I could get on to the team. He said if you manage yourself well, you could have four good meets, so I was happy with my performances at each, so it went well.

“It was definitely worth it. It’s been awesome, to experience a home Games, it’s fantastic.”

Bailey will return to the US next Monday and plans to come home after completing the final year of her PE teaching degree.

She was unsure what the future held in her swimming career.

“I need a break, just physically and mentally, to recoup and set some goals and really think about what I want to do next,” she said.

“I’m not sure at the moment. I just need to get back to my coach and figure things out.”

Bailey won the 400 IM and took bronze in the 200m butterfly at the college conference Big Ten Championships in the US before the Games trials. She was then seventh in the NCAA titles in the 400 IM, earning her All American status, before the Games.