[ad_1]
When Swimming Australia announced teenage sensation Isaac Cooper had been sent home for ‘use of medication’ ahead of the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham on Wednesday, the shock move raised more questions than it answered.
There are now claims the 19-year-old was made a ‘scapegoat’, and that other members of the Australian Dolphins swim team were involved in misbehaviour during the pre-Games camp in France.
The mysterious reasoning behind Cooper being sent home piqued the interest of swimming fans and former legends alike, with Olympic champion Leisel Jones commenting on how rare it is for an athlete to be sent home from such a huge event – which is due to begin next week.
Isaac Cooper after setting a national record in the 50-metre backstroke at the 2022 Australian Swimming Championships in Adelaide earlier this year
Even Australia’s chef de mission for the Games, former swimming legend Petria Thomas, admitted they ‘don’t have the details’ surrounding the incident.
News Corp reported that some insiders alleged Cooper had been made a ‘scapegoat’, and wasn’t the only one to misbehave, while one called his omission from the game ‘over-the-top.’
There are also reports that a ‘party’ was had – but whether that was what led to Cooper being sent home is another matter entirely.
Swimming Australia announced Cooper had been sent home from the Dolphins’ pre-Games training camp in France due to personal issues in a 6am press release on Wednesday.
‘Cooper has been sent home from the Dolphins training camp following some wellbeing challenges, including the use of medication,’ Swimming Australia said in a statement.
‘He has acknowledged his mistakes and accepted the consequences, and Swimming Australia will continue to support him as he addresses these challenges.’
Isaac Cooper competes in a medley relay during the 2022 World Championships
Isaac Cooper after finishing third in the 50m backstroke semi final at the 2022 World Championships in Bupadest, Hungary
Jones, a popular three-time Olympic gold medallist, said on her Triple M radio show that the circumstances surrounding Cooper’s mysterious banishing were very ‘strange’.
‘I have no idea what that (use of medication) means, I have no idea what that implies (and) I’m sure a lot of people will make a lot of assumptions about what that possibly could be and it could be a multitude of many, many different things,’ she said.
‘This is very strange from Swimming Australia. I don’t know of many people, you could probably count on one hand, who have been sent home from camps like this.’
Swimming Australia has reportedly denied there has been any sort of repeat of the infamous Stilnox incident at the 2012 London Olympics.
The ‘Stilnox Six’: Eamon Sullivan, James Magnussen, Matt Targett, James Roberts, Tommaso D’Orsogna and Cameron McEvoy took part in a bonding session involving the prescription sleeping pill and were disciplined by Swimming Australia.
During the bonding session they also played pranks on fellow swimmers, something they described as ‘childish’ and ‘stupid’ at the time.
Isaac Cooper catches his breath after competing in the 100m backstroke semi finals at the Tokyo Olympics last year
The fact that there are no details surrounding what the medication was, or what the incident was, is the proverbial moth to the flame for fans, former swimming legends and media personalities.
As Jones said, being sent home is an ultra-rare event, which would lead people to believe that whatever the incident was; it was serious.
Isaac Cooper celebrates winning the National 50m backstroke title in May this year
Questions have also been raised about the Dolphins unusual preparation for the Games.
Following the World Championships in Budapest that finished on June 26, up to 38 athletes and support staff remained in Europe prior to the official camp in Chartres, France.
It was a preparation Jones labelled ‘abnormal’, with swimmers enjoying down-time in Switzerland, Barcelona and Paris, amongst others.
A team hub was set up in Barcelona, and swimmers were reportedly allowed to train when they wanted.
Leisel Jones, pictured during the 2012 London Olympics, has raised doubts about Swimming Australia’s preparation for the Commonwealth Games
Jones wasn’t sure whether it was the right preparation for such a big event.
‘That is very abnormal and we have never done that before. That is what I think has been a bit of a challenge here whether people have switched off too much,’ she said.
Cooper had been set to make his Games debut in four events: 50 and 100m backstroke, 50m butterfly and 50m freestyle.
He competed in the 100m backstroke and 4 x 100m mixed medley relay at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics last year, and was expected to compete for medals in Birmingham.
The teenager broke the National Record for the 50m backstroke at the National Championships at the Adelaide in May, with a sizzling 24.44.
Cooper (far left) celebrates being selected in the Commonwealth Games team earlier this year, prior to being sent home in disgrace
He also came first in the 100m backstroke, with a third placings in the 50m butterfly and 50m freestyle.
He won a bronze medal in Tokyo for his part in the mixed medley relay, and promisingly finished eighth in the 50m backstroke at the World Championships in Bupadest last month.
That’s why being sent home prior to a Commonwealth Games is such a shattering blow to the teenager.
And it leaves the swimming team under immense pressure, yet again, with the Games due to start next Thursday.
[ad_2]
Source link
Have something to say? Leave a comment:
