Australian Olympic Committee head John Coates admitted Wednesday that he is concerned about the public’s perception of the Olympic team after reports that some swimmers created a “toxic” environment at last summer’s London Games.
“The last thing we want is for the mums and dads not to think of our Olympians as role models,” Coates told Reuters Wednesday. “We are trying to create greater participation in sport through our team.”
Last month, six members of the Australian men’s 4x100m swim relay admitted using banned sleeping pills and partaking in “childish behavior” during an initiation leading up the London Olympics. The swimmers could face sanctions, fines, removal of funding, and the possibility of not being selected for future events, such as worlds and the Rio Games.
Stilnox is banned by the AOC, not the World Anti-doping Agency, but Coates is still concerned that the fallout from this these disciplinary issues could still create problems with sponsors int the future.
“Sponsors know that we take a very strong stand on doping, our sponsors know that during the Games we have a total ban on illicit drugs,” Coates dded. “But certainly some of the behavior aspects of the swimmers is going to cause some problems. We are looking at it and we need to sort it out.”
