June 16, 2008

NICK D'Arcy's fight to be included in the Australian Olympic team for the Beijing Games is officially over after the controversial swimmer had a Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) appeal rejected.

An Australian Olympic Committee spokesperson has confirmed that the CAS had knocked back D'Arcy's final avenue for appeal after the AOC executive board had backed an earlier decision by its president John Coates to sack him from the team.

It is the end of a drawn out saga - at least from an Olympic perspective - that started when D'Arcy allegedly assaulted former swimmer Simon Cowley in a Sydney bar incident in the early hours of March 30.

He was subsequently kicked off the team by Coates for bringing himself, his sport and the Olympic team into disrepute - but an initial appeal to CAS found that, while D'Arcy had brought himself into disrepute, in breach of the AOC guidelines, the AOC chief did not have the authority alone to remove the swimmer from the team.

It was then referred back to the AOC executive board, who concurred with Coates' view that D'Arcy should not be allowed to compete in Beijing.

D'Arcy then appealed that decision unsuccessfully in a five-hour CAS hearing in Sydney on Monday.

While his fight to be included in the Olympic team may be over, D'Arcy has another battle on his hands starting Tuesday.

He is due in court to answer a charge of recklessly causing grievous bodily harm to Cowley, an offence which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years' jail.