The Australian swimming team has been dragged into a bizarre storm ahead of the Olympics after arriving in Paris with face masks.

The star-studded squad of 41 swimmers touched down in the French capital this week before moving their headquarters to Chartres, a one-hour drive from the City of Light.

The Dolphins took the added precaution of wearing protective face masks as they made their long-awaited arrival following their recent camp in the south of France after flying out from Australia last month.

The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade still “strongly encourages” Australians travelling abroad to mask up.

French health authorities also continue to recommend masks be worn “in enclosed and small spaces, and at large gatherings”.

The Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) has informed news.com.au that athletes have been advised to wear masks in crowded indoor spaces, including on transportation and during meetings, on the advice of AOC medical director Dr Carolyn Broderick.

This is only a recommendation; masks are not compulsory for the 460 Australian athletes who will compete in France.

The Australian team is doing everything in its power to reduce the risk of even minor infectious illnesses that could potentially have an impact on athletic performance, an AOC spokesperson has told news.com.au.

Despite this, the sight of the Aussies wearing masks has rubbed some the wrong way.

The issue of Covid-19 transmissions is still hovering around the Paris Games, despite the event promising to be a “return to normal” for athletes after the extraordinary health and safety measures that overshadowed the Tokyo Olympics three years ago at the height of the pandemic.

The Aussie swim team’s arrival appears to have stirred up the hornets nest, with more than 9000 athletes beginning to arrive in Paris and other French Olympic cities.

The Olympics Village will be open to athletes and team officials from Thursday (AEDT), with more than 14,000 people calling the site home for the next few weeks before the closing ceremony on August 12.

Every precaution has been taken, with the Aussie swimmers among the first to compete beginning on July 27.

According to some outspoken figures, the face mask measure goes too far.

One video, posted on Twitter by divisive media group Wide Awake Media, criticising the Aussie team, has been viewed more than 900,000 times.

“Just when you thought the country of Australia couldn’t possibly become any more of a laughing stock, the entire Australian swimming team arrives for the Paris Olympics muzzled up in face masks,” the account posted.

One Twitter user wrote: “Hopefully, they will continue to wear masks during the events. Australia – the real life Monty Python country”.

Author Josh Walkos told his 96,000 followers the Australian swim team were “clowns”.

Scottish politician Jim Ferguson told his 227,000 Twitter followers it was some sort of “attempt to normalise masks”.

The storm comes after the Tour de France this week made masks mandatory in certain areas, with Covid-19 transmissions sweeping through the field of riders and officials.

The World Health Organisation last month stated more than 1,700 people across the world are still dying every week from Covid-19.

However, for the athletes in France, things will be as “normal” as possible, with organisers aiming to throw a party for athletes and fans.

It says plenty that organisers have stockpiled 300,000 condoms to be distributed across the Olympic Village.

The Dolphins have more than enough on their plate already with the Paris Games viewed as another “duel in the pool” with the Aussie team trying to take down the Americans for the first time since the Melbourne Olympics in 1956.

There has been a spicy backdrop to the Paris swim meet after Australia knocked America off the top spot at the 2023 Aquatics World Championships.

The rivalry has bubbled away ever since, with Aussie great Cate Campbell calling the Americans “sore losers”.

Aussie great Stephanie Rice wrote exclusively for news.com.au last week, suggesting that the Dolphins and the rest of the Aussie swimming community need to keep their heads down to be best prepared for their Olympics campaigns..