Olympics-Swimming-Australians felt burden of expectation, says Thorpe

* Gold tally didn't reflect form going into Games * Thorpe says pressure is different than on Americans * Schooling, Peaty, Ledecky new stars of post-Phelps era * Japanese improving in run-up to Tokyo Olympics By Mark Trevelyan RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug 17 (Reuters) - Australia's swimmers are placed under more pressure than their American rivals and that weight of expectation helps explain why their Rio medal tally failed to match their form going into the Games, five-time Olympic champion Ian Thorpe said on Wednesday. Australia won three golds, compared with just one in London in 2012, but sprint sisters Cate and Bronte Campbell failed to win individual medals and freestyler Cameron McEvoy also had a disappointing Games. "We had eight of the world-leading times coming into these Games and the U.S. had six," Thorpe told Reuters in an interview. "What was interesting for me to watch was that all of our athletes who were individual world champions and world number one going in, they actually didn't come home with the gold medal. And I think it says a lot about the amount of pressure on athletes or swimmers in Australia, which is quite different to what it is in the U.S." Thorpe avoided naming names, but the Campbell sisters were hot favourites in the sprints, where Bronte is the 100m world champion and Cate set a world record in the event last month. The pair steered their country to victory in the 4x100 metres freestyle relay on the opening night, when team mate Mack Horton won the 400m free, but came away empty-handed in their individual races. Australia's other gold came from Kyle Chalmers in the men's 100m freestyle. Before Rio, Thorpe, who won five golds, three silvers and a bronze at the Sydney and Athens Olympics, had predicted four to six golds for Australia. "These athletes were expected to win and it was almost assumed that they would. In part I think we did build the expectations up a lot because these swimmers were fantastic swimmers, the first time we've had such a strong bunch," said Thorpe, 33, now retired from competitive swimming. "We had a tremendous first night and we had a great result as well with Kyle Chalmers, and some of the relays we did well in. But it wasn't as successful as we'd hoped, and we'll make a reassessment. But you could look at it the other way and it was three times better than what it was in London." DIVERSE TALENT With Michael Phelps insisting that he really is calling time on the most successful Olympic career of all time, Thorpe said the future faces of the sport are looking more global than in the past. He cited Singapore's Joseph Schooling, who beat Phelps in the 100m butterfly, as well as Chalmers, Britain's Adam Peaty and U.S. quadruple gold medallist Katie Ledecky. "Katie Ledecky was outstanding at this competition. She was probably the swimmer that impressed me the most at these Games alongside Michael," he said. "The names are kind of becoming more global. The Japanese did well, they have lots of bronze medals on the medal tally and their strategy leading into Tokyo (2020) will be converting those into gold." "I'M ONE AHEAD" Thorpe paid tribute to Phelps, whose five gold medals and a silver in Rio took his world-beating career total to 28 - 23 gold, three silver and two bronze. He said the American's haul of records - including eight golds in a single Olympics in Beijing, and the first man to win the same event four times running - was unlikely to be surpassed. "The way he did it here was impressive. I enjoyed watching him race at these Games more than I did in London. He was better at these Games in how he looked, how he raced, how he performed," Thorpe said. "This is going to be a very difficult, if not impossible record to break." The two men's careers overlapped, with Thorpe losing to Phelps in an individual medley at the world championships but beating him in the 200m freestyle at the Athens Olympics in 2004. So did that mean honours even? "Not Olympics, I'm one ahead," Thorpe replied. (Reporting by Mark Trevelyan)