A week shy of the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, Swimming Australia recently confirmed that two of its members will not compete as initially planned.

Australian swimmer and rising athlete Isaac Cooper has been forced out of the training camp for disciplinary reasons that involved the misuse of medication.

Swimming Australia made the shocking announcement on Wednesday, revealing that the swimmer will also miss the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham starting next week where he was supposed to compete in the 50-metre butterfly and 50-metre freestyle.

The 18-year-old was also set to compete in the 50 and 100-metre backstroke, where he tipped to win first place.

Isaac Cooper. Source: The Australian​

‘Cooper has been sent home from the Dolphins training camp following some wellbeing challenges, including the use of medication,’ Swimming Australia’s team officials detailed.

‘He has acknowledged his mistakes and accepted the consequences, and Swimming Australia will continue to support him as he addresses these challenges,’

‘The welfare of our athletes remains our absolute priority. Swimming Australia is vigilant in educating athletes about their obligations under the National Integrity Framework. It will continue to provide all necessary support to ensure they uphold the highest standards and behaviours when representing Australia.’

They also added that para-swimmer Tim Disken was forced to halt training for medical reasons, explaining: ‘Disken has experienced a setback in his recovery following recent surgery which will rule him out of competing in Birmingham,’

Cooper is a rising force in the games. Source: Swimming World​

Cooper has now left Chartres city in France, where he had been staying for the past week along with the rest of the Australian swim team in preparation for the Birmingham games.

Isaac Cooper is an emerging athlete superstar after he bagged a bronze medal in last year’s Tokyo Olympics, where he competed in the mixed 4x100 metre medley relay team.

He also set a new national record in the 50-metre backstroke at the National Championships held in May and rose to fame as the top-ranked swimmer in the Commonwealth for both the 50-metre and 100-metre backstroke.

Cooper’s predicament resurfaced previous controversies from the 2012 Olympics in London. Australian swimmers Eamon Sullivan, Matt Targett, James Magnussen, James Roberts, Tommaso D'Orsogna, and Cameron McEvoy were sanctioned over the use of Stilnox at a bonding session in 2012.

All of the swimmers except for Roberts confessed to abusing the substance, which had been forbidden by the Australian Olympic Committee. The six swimmers were fined and given deferred suspensions by Swimming Australia.

The NPS Medicinewise website states that Stilnox is a prescription drug often used to ‘initiate and maintain sleep in those with sleeping difficulties, also called insomnia, in patients over 18 years of age.’

However, according to a Swimming Australia spokesman, the sedative Stilnox was ‘categorically’ not the misused substance in Cooper’s case.

What are your thoughts on Cooper missing what was likely to be a medal-winning Commonwealth Games? Did Swimming Australia make the right decision? Let us know in the comments!

 

[Ricci]

He should know the rules by now and if in doubt ask. For the sake of the team he had to be disciplined, it's a shame after all his hard work in preparing. Here's hoping he learns his lesson.

 

[Gazman]

A week shy of the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, Swimming Australia recently confirmed that two of its members will not compete as initially planned.

Australian swimmer and rising athlete Isaac Cooper has been forced out of the training camp for disciplinary reasons that involved the misuse of medication.

Swimming Australia made the shocking announcement on Wednesday, revealing that the swimmer will also miss the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham starting next week where he was supposed to compete in the 50-metre butterfly and 50-metre freestyle.

The 18-year-old was also set to compete in the 50 and 100-metre backstroke, where he tipped to win first place.

Isaac Cooper. Source: The Australian​

‘Cooper has been sent home from the Dolphins training camp following some wellbeing challenges, including the use of medication,’ Swimming Australia’s team officials detailed.

‘He has acknowledged his mistakes and accepted the consequences, and Swimming Australia will continue to support him as he addresses these challenges,’

‘The welfare of our athletes remains our absolute priority. Swimming Australia is vigilant in educating athletes about their obligations under the National Integrity Framework. It will continue to provide all necessary support to ensure they uphold the highest standards and behaviours when representing Australia.’

They also added that para-swimmer Tim Disken was forced to halt training for medical reasons, explaining: ‘Disken has experienced a setback in his recovery following recent surgery which will rule him out of competing in Birmingham,’

Cooper is a rising force in the games. Source: Swimming World​

Cooper has now left Chartres city in France, where he had been staying for the past week along with the rest of the Australian swim team in preparation for the Birmingham games.

Isaac Cooper is an emerging athlete superstar after he bagged a bronze medal in last year’s Tokyo Olympics, where he competed in the mixed 4x100 metre medley relay team.

He also set a new national record in the 50-metre backstroke at the National Championships held in May and rose to fame as the top-ranked swimmer in the Commonwealth for both the 50-metre and 100-metre backstroke.

Cooper’s predicament resurfaced previous controversies from the 2012 Olympics in London. Australian swimmers Eamon Sullivan, Matt Targett, James Magnussen, James Roberts, Tommaso D'Orsogna, and Cameron McEvoy were sanctioned over the use of Stilnox at a bonding session in 2012.

All of the swimmers except for Roberts confessed to abusing the substance, which had been forbidden by the Australian Olympic Committee. The six swimmers were fined and given deferred suspensions by Swimming Australia.

The NPS Medicinewise website states that Stilnox is a prescription drug often used to ‘initiate and maintain sleep in those with sleeping difficulties, also called insomnia, in patients over 18 years of age.’

However, according to a Swimming Australia spokesman, the sedative Stilnox was ‘categorically’ not the misused substance in Cooper’s case.

What are your thoughts on Cooper missing what was likely to be a medal-winning Commonwealth Games? Did Swimming Australia make the right decision? Let us know in the comments!

Rules are rules, he made his bed and now he has to lie in it. If he had competed and been tested would he have been suspended for 2 years?