Emma McKeon, Josh Palmer Punished After Night Out; Palmer Reports Being Robbed

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Photo Courtesy: Delly Carr / Swimming Australia Ltd.

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Australian teammates Emma McKeon and Josh Palmer have been reported as losing several privileges for the remainder of their stay in Rio after a night out. The pair were with a group of swimmers at a beach club located in Copacabana but did not return to the Olympic Village with their teammates, choosing to stay out until 4 a.m.

While out that night Palmer reported to officials that a man approached him with a gun and forced him to withdraw money from an ATM that was located nearby.

A statement by Kitty Chiller, AOC boss, expressed disappointent in the two athletes and noted that the two “must now remain in the village between 8 pm and 8 am and only travel to sporting events in official Rio 2016 transport.”

Chiller’s statement continued by stating that,

Palmer and McKeon’s behaviour was unacceptable and they breached disciplinary protocols. I have raised the need for the swimming team leader to ensure he is aware of his athlete’s whereabouts when leaving hte Olympic Village and that the swimming athletes observe the 2 am curfew.

McKeon chose to stay in Copacabana that night with a friend, never alerting team management that she would not be returning. McKeon addressed her mistake in a tweet today.

Neither McKeon nor Palmer will be allowed to attend the Closing Ceremonies in Rio, an event in which McKeon had been a strong contender to carry the Aussie flag after her strong performances at the Games. McKeon is returning home with one bronze, two silvers, and one gold medal, in addition to being a part of the World Record-breaking 400 free relay, while Palmer finished 30th overall in prelims of the men’s 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:01.13.

Swimming Australia later released a statement supporting the AOC’s decision.

Read the full statement from Swimming Australia here:

Swimming Australia said today it supports the decision by the Australian Olympic Committee to sanction two swimmers; Joshua Palmer and Emma McKeon.

Swimming Australia CEO, Mark Anderson stated that “our athletes safety, health and well-being is of paramount importance and the sanctions applied reinforces this position for the two involved athletes and the team.”
“Over the course of the Olympic Games the Australian swim team has represented Australia and the team well and have been very mindful of their responsibilities as Australian Olympic Team members,” Anderson said.

“The values of the Olympic Team and the Australian Swim team are our foundation. We hold each other accountable for these values. These are two isolated incidents that do not reflect on the whole team.”

Following a night out both Palmer and McKeon failed to return to the Olympic Village or inform team management of their whereabouts.

McKeon was separated from team members at a nightclub in Copacabana and as per the AOC safety protocol of not travelling alone she opted to stay with two female friends in this area rather than travelling back to the Village by herself. It was her failure to advise team management of this situation that has resulted in this sanction.

Australian Head Coach Jacco Verhaeren said: “In both instances these are not issues of poor behaviour by either individual. The matters related to the safety of both swimmers and that is my and the team’s priority,” Verhaeren said.

“Both athletes conducted themselves well and professionally throughout the competition.”

McKeon made the decision to stay with two international female swimmers that she has previously trained with rather than travel back alone, but notes that she failed to alert team management of this decision, which is a breach of the protocol.

Palmer was also separated from teammates and continued to drink alone, compromising his safety and breaching the AOC safety protocol and placing himself at risk.

Neither of the swimmers disturbed any competing athletes, it was primarily their safety and security that have caused these sanctions.

“The Australian Swim Team and Swimming Australia are fully committed to upholding the AOC values. We were involved in and support the decisions that have been made to ensure all of our team members remain safe for the remainder of the Games and we support the AOC in these endeavours,” Anderson said.

Read the full report The Sydney Morning Herald here.

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Wayne McCauley
Wayne McCauley
7 years ago

Shades of Dawn Fraser, the greatest of all Aussie swimmers

Pamela Goldsbro
Pamela Goldsbro
7 years ago

Surely you can find a better way of addressing this minor breach of regulations other than missing the closing ceremony. Emma should be carrying the flag for Australia as our most successful athlete to date. The swimmers never get to go to the opening ceremony as they compete on the first day, so this is their only opportunity for that Olympic experience . The Olympic Team management can’t be that smart if this is what they have had to resort to. These kids might never make another Olympic team. Do you really think this is fair . Just plain mean spirited. Bad call Kitty.

Moni
Moni
7 years ago

Maybe we start here with holding people accountable. They knew the rules. They knew the consequences. Own it.

Angela
Angela
7 years ago

Please proofread your content – or at least use basic spellcheck functionality. I was skimming through the article and noticed “disappointent” instead of “disappointment” and “hte” instead of “the” within the first few paragraphs.

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