Should D'Arcy Be Allowed to Go to the Olympics
 

Ex-swimmer Cowley undergoes face repair
Monday Apr 7 18:55 AEST
Former swimmer Simon Cowley will have five titanium plates in his face for the rest of his life after suffering horrific injuries when he was king-hit in a Sydney bar last week.

Cowley, 27, was discharged from hospital on Monday, three days after a complex series of operations to repair his face.

He is in considerable pain and will have to be fed through a straw for at least the next few weeks.

"He's a bit of a mess at the moment," said Peter Cowley, who is helping care for his son in the family home in Sydney.

"He's had five plates inserted - two each side of his jaw and another one up near the eye socket."

Cowley has been told the plates will be there for the rest of his life.

He suffered fractures to his jaw, eye socket, hard palate, cheekbone and nose. He also had bones broken above the bridge of his nose.

"With his nose they had to straighten it all up and he's got a splint on that," Mr Cowley said.

"But he's in good spirits, which is good.

"He realises it's going to be a long process to recovery and we're just keeping our fingers crossed that everything has gone well and there's no problems," he told AAP.

"The surgeons are very happy with the result. They've been able to repair all the damage and they're reasonably confident."

Cowley suffered the injuries at a celebration following the naming of a 42-member Australian swim team for the Beijing Olympics.

Nick D'Arcy, who won his place in the team after breaking the Commonwealth 200m butterfly record, is facing charges of grievous bodily harm and assault.

Cowley's friend and former manager Rob Woodhouse said Simon had not heard from D'Arcy since the incident.

"He's had no contact," Woodhouse said.

"He's got horrific injuries and I think the last thing he's been thinking about is what happens to Nick or whether Nick's going to apologise or whatever."

Woodhouse revealed that Cowley had won a work promotion the day before the incident and is now looking forward to returning to his job in financial planning when he is well enough.

"He's a very positive kid, Simon. He's got a very positive outlook on life and I think that will stand him in good stead through all this," Woodhouse said.

Meanwhile Peter and Elaine Cowley are preparing all their son's food with a blender.

"It's quite uncomfortable for him," Mr Cowley said.

"He's someone who likes his food, too, so I think that's not helping either."

Cowley is scheduled to see his surgeon next Friday for further assessment.

If he won his spot he should be allowed to go although should be charged and serve his sentence for the crime.

I dont agree, as much as I hate to say it, letting this kid go through to the games gives entirely the wrong message to those younger coming through. Alot of the good young ones have a little too much given too them because theyre talented, kids like this one need to learn that they cant do what ever they want whether you blame it on the booze or not.
If anybody else did it there is no way the courts would let them leave the country whether to work or not.

I just think he needs to be taught a lesson, he has too severely impacted cowleys life, its not like it was a small hit by the sounds.

No, he should not be allowed to go, because it is wrong what he did and so he should pay the price.

i reckon let him go, you dont usually get king hit for no reason,there must be more to it.

What about all the dumb footballers out there who stuff every 2nd week on the piss and get into shit they get away with it.

Let the kid swim.

Swimmer D'Arcy axed from Olympic team
April 18, 2008 - 3:13PM
Source: ABC

Queensland swimmer Nick D'Arcy has been axed from the Australian swimming team for the Beijing Olympics.

D'Arcy was charged with assault and assault occasioning grievous bodily harm after an alleged fight with former swimmer Simon Cowley after the Olympic trials in Sydney last month.

The president of the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC), John Coates, announced the decision in Sydney this morning.

He said the AOC made the decision to drop him from the team after ruling that his presence in Beijing would bring the team into disrepute and censure.

"I was required to consider Nicholas D'Arcy's conduct in a number of respects given widespread media coverage of incidents in which he was reportedly involved," Mr Coates told a press conference.

"It is clear that being charged with criminal offences of such a serious nature is sufficient to bring Nicholas and the sport of swimming into disrepute and is likely to bring the team and the AOC into disrepute if he continues to be a member of the team."

The 20-year-old D'Arcy, from Queensland's Sunshine Coast, had qualified to swim the 100 and 200 metres butterfly in the Olympics.

D'Arcy is expected to appear in a Sydney court on Monday.

"I express no view about the outcome of those proceedings except to note that Nicholas is entitled to the presumption of innocence and the charges must be proved beyond reasonable doubt," Mr Coates said.

Mr Coates says D'Arcy will have the right to appeal the decision in the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

"It goes without saying that the reputation of the sport of swimming, the Olympic Team and the Australian Olympic Committee is of the highest level in this country and must remain so," Mr Coates added.

"Membership of the team is a privilege to enjoy and the standards expected of our athletes is extremely high because of the public reputation which has been established and maintained by our Olympians over many years."

D'Arcy's coach Brian Stehr says the AOC's decision means D'Arcy's career is over.

"I doubt that he'll swim again, this will be the end of his swimming career," Stehr said.

"Basically for him it's a life sentence if you consider that perhaps your one opportunity to swim in the Olympics has been taken away from you."

"I think it's unfair. I think it amounts to a penalty that basically affects him for the rest of his life and that's not fair, doesn't give him an opportunity to move forward from this and show his true character."

So it looks like he's not going to the olympics.

Should control his anger next time.

I think he should be suspended until the court procedings are finished. If guilty dump from team if not or extenuating circumstances back in team.

let the kid swim

bugger him...he has bashed the living daylights out of an innocent kid, causing horrific facial injuries from which the lad may never recover. I don't want him representing my country.

D'Arcy may never swim again

Nick D'Arcy is set to walk away from swimming and return to university if his expected appeal against expulsion from the Australian Olympic team is unsuccessful.

D'Arcy was weighing up his options after being thrown off the Beijing Games team for his alleged assault on former Commonwealth swimming champion Simon Cowley in Sydney last month.

Australian Olympic Committee president John Coates informed D'Arcy of the devastating decision by fax after an AOC investigation into the 20-year-old's nightclub altercation with Cowley just hours after being nominated for the 2008 Games on March 29.

D'Arcy is facing charges of assault and assault occasioning grievous bodily harm for his alleged attack on Cowley, who suffered a broken jaw, broken nose, fractured eye socket, crushed cheekbone and fractured palate in the incident.

D'Arcy is due to appear in a Sydney court on Monday and, although Coates said D'Arcy was "entitled to the presumption of innocence and the charges must be proved beyond reasonable doubt", he deemed his conduct had brought "swimming, the team and the AOC into disrepute and censure".

While Australian swimming icon Dawn Fraser believed D'Arcy had the ability to make a comeback, coach Brian Stehr feared Coates' decision had probably ended his charge's swimming career.

D'Arcy had 48 hours from the time of the decision to declare his intention to lodge an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport and then five more days to officially lodge the necessary paperwork.

If his likely appeal fails, or indeed he decides not to challenge the AOC decision, D'Arcy will return to university to study science and and may eventually pursue a career in medicine.

"I really believe that (he will give it away)," Stehr said. "Nick's put his university on hold for a while now and he'll return to his university studies."

Coates said he was expressing no view on the outcome of the upcoming criminal proceedings against D'Arcy, but admitted he had considered his "conduct in a number of respects given widespread media coverage of incidents in which he was reportedly involved" in addition to the alleged assault on Cowley.

Queensland ironman Tim Peach also claims he had his nose broken by D'Arcy 18 months ago, while the swimmer also reportedly threatened dual Olympian Ray Boyd and his son Matt two years ago when angered about a friendship Matt had entered with a woman who had previously been involved with D'Arcy.

"It goes without saying that the reputation of the sport of swimming, the Olympic team and the Australian Olympic Committee is of the highest level in this country and must remain so," Coates said.

"Membership of the team is a privilege to enjoy and the standards expected of our athletes is extremely high because of the public reputation which has been established and maintained by our Olympians over many years."

Swimming Australia chief Glenn Tasker said his organisation supported the AOC's stance, but Cowley's father Peter, while aware of the decision, was reticent to comment "because it's all subject to a legal matter".

D'Arcy also declined to comment on his axing after going surfing with friends when the ruling was being handed down.

"(This) decision has come as a huge disappointment to Nick, to his family, and to all his supporters and after years of hard work in preparation towards this Olympic dream," his father Justin said.

Coach Stehr was far more forthcoming, condemning the decision as "unfair".

"I think it amounts to a penalty that basically affects him for the rest of his life and that's not fair," Stehr said.

"It doesn't give him an opportunity to move forward from this and show his true character."

He said D'Arcy, who will not be replaced on the team, had been subjected to a "trial by media".

"A lot of the media reports were unfortunately slanted in a way and painted a picture that was not accurate," Stehr said.

"I think one of the headlines called him a 'swim thug' and he's not. He never goes out looking for trouble - unfortunately it's found him on a couple of occasions in his life."

Fraser, who had her own brushes with controversy during her illustrious career, also agreed with the AOC decision but backed D'Arcy to bounce back.

"He's a swimmer, he's got a strong mental attitude - which you've got to have to be a swimmer - and I think D'Arcy could overcome this," she said.

Even if D'Arcy makes his way back onto the team, he faces a nigh impossible task triumphing in Beijing.

The 200-metres butterfly for which he qualified is American superstar Michael Phelps' pet event and D'Arcy would need to improve his PB by some four seconds to challenge.

so next time a footballer bashes somebody do you think will get banned, NO CHANCE.

how do you know he bashed a innocent kid?, we dont know the full story, he never got a fair trial, its a joke.

He has been banned from going to the Olympic games not from swimming forever. If the Australian Olympic committee have made this decision prior to the court case being held then it can be assumed that they have enough evidence of his guilt or surely they would be held to redicule if Darcy was found to be innocent of the charges. We cannot compare what our footballers get away with to this case, for the reason that AFL is only played in Australia and will never have the same strict code of honour that people performing in the Olympics have to abide by. The Olympics is a world stage to which the rest of the world rightly or wrongly will judge our country by the type of atheletes that are representing us.

he has still been hard done by.

who gives a shit what the world thinks - hey is china going to participate in the olympics despite whats going on in china,is the world going to boycott the olympics because of tibet,NO CHANCE.

at the end of the day it might be self defense,who knows,so to ban him so early is a bit tough on the bloke.

D'Arcy case adjourned until June

April 21, 2008 SWIMMER Nick D'Arcy was ordered not to approach or contact Olympic team swimmer Stephanie Rice and four others as his assault case was adjourned until June 17.

Dressed in a dark grey suit with a dark tie and white shirt, D'Arcy arrived at Sydney's Downing Centre Local Court on Monday morning to face charges of assaulting former swimmer Simon Cowley. His father Justin and legal team arrived with him.

D'Arcy, 20, was facing two charges of assault and grievous bodily harm but that was changed by the Director of Public Prosecutions and he is now facing one charge of recklessly inflicting grievous bodily harm on Cowley.

Cowley suffered a broken jaw, broken nose, fractured eye socket, crushed cheekbone and fractured palate in an altercation in Sydney last month.

In a brief hearing, Rhonda Ianna, for the DPP, requested a change in D'Arcy's bail conditions that he was no longer able to contact Rice in addition to four other unnamed witnesses that he is unable to contact.

In court, an emotionless but attentive D'Arcy spoke little, only answering "yes" when the magistrate asked him to confirm his name and if he was aware of the single charge against him.

After the changes to the bail conditions, the matter was adjourned and D'Arcy, his father and lawyer left the court.

Outside the court, D'Arcy said he remained hopeful of a positive outcome in his appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to have his dumping from the Australian Olympic team to the Beijing Games overturned.

"I'm still pretty optimistic about the outcome," he said, adding he was still 100 per cent committed to competing Beijing.

D'Arcy said he was not sure what would happen to his swimming career if he did not get to the Beijing Games.

"My swimming career would take a turn for the worse if I didn't make Beijing," he said.

"I'd really have to re-evaluate where I'm at.

"I'm still in the water and I'm still training.

"Obviously I'm pretty hopeful that I'll get a positive outcome of the appeal but yes, we'll find out shortly."

D'Arcy's lawyer Jack Leitner confirmed the swimmer had lodged an appeal to the CAS in a bid to have the decision to cut him from the Olympic team overturned.

He again stated D'Arcy's request that he not be "tried by the media" over the case.

"My client will be vigorously pursuing these charges," Mr Leitner said.

"The defence will be strong (and) my client respects the court's and police's determination of this matter thus far."

"We stress again not to be tried by media and (that they) respect his rights for a fair trial."

The original charges against D'Arcy were amended to a single charge at the DPP's request because they had been incorrectly laid.

The alleged incident with Cowley happened as D'Arcy celebrated his naming on the Olympic team for Beijing following last month's Games trials.

The Queensland swimmer has since been booted off the team, with Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) boss John Coates last week saying the charges against D'Arcy had brought the sport into disrepute.

D'Arcy loses appeal
May 28, 2008

NICK D'Arcy has lost his appeal to be reinstated into Australia's Olympic swimming team for the Games in Beijing.

D'Arcy, who qualified to compete in the 200m butterfly, appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland, after he was dumped from the national team on April 18.

He was dropped from the team after being charged with assaulting former swimmer Simon Cowley in a Sydney nightclub, with the Australian Olympic Committee finding him guilty of bringing himself and the sport of swimming into disrepute.

But CAS endorsed the AOC decision by finding that D'Arcy hadn't observed "the provisions of the AOC Ethical Behaviour By-Law".

Justice Henric Nicholas, the president of the CAS panel, found that D'Arcy "did not meet the conditions of Clause 2(8) of the Membership Agreement between himself and the Australian Olympic Committee Inc".

D'Arcy, 20, still faces a criminal charge of recklessly inflicting grievous bodily harm on Commonwealth champion swimmer Simon Cowley.

The charge stems from an altercation between the pair at a Sydney bar hours after D'Arcy was announced as part of Australia's swimming team for the Beijing Games from August 8-24.

Cowley suffered a broken jaw, broken nose, fractured eye socket, crushed cheekbone and fractured palate in the incident. He is yet to speak publicly on the matter.

D'Arcy's court case has been adjourned until June 17.

The potential punishment for criminal offences, including a jail term, is unlikely to be handed down before the Olympics.

mmm Looks like hes not going to the olympics

its only ok if a dumb footballers play up

D'Arcy can train with Olympic team
 

June 06, 2008

Swimmer Nick D'Arcy has won the legal right to mix and train with prospective Olympic teammates after a magistrate altered his bail conditions.

D'Arcy's legal team successfully argued for the lifting of a condition that he not contact or associate with certain Olympic swim team members, including world record holders Stephanie Rice, Eamon Sullivan and close friend Kenrick Monk.

D'Arcy, 20, faces a charge of recklessly causing grievous bodily harm to retired swimmer Simon Cowley, who suffered serious facial injuries when he was struck at a celebration party on March 30, a few hours after the naming of the team.

AOC president John Coates dumped D'Arcy from the Olympic team but the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) subsequently ruled that while D'Arcy had broken team rules by bringing himself into disrepute, Coates himself did not have the authority to drop him.

It said that decision must be made by the AOC board, which will meet next Wednesday to hear D'Arcy's side of the story.

“There is no longer any legal impediment which would prevent my client from continuing to be a member of the team,” D'Arcy's lawyer Jack Leitner said.

“The condition that he not approach or contact other team members has been deleted.

“He is at liberty to associate with and contact those persons so long as he does not discuss the charge with any of them.”

Although D'Arcy is considered to have only a slim chance of swimming in Beijing, the magistrate's ruling solves a potential logistical nightmare for Olympic officials.

He would have had to travel and train separately from the rest of the team in Beijing and at a training camp in Kuala Lumpur in late July.

Leitner will accompany D'Arcy when he appears before the AOC executive next Wednesday.

Coates has disqualified himself from the meeting, which will be chaired by AOC vice-president Ron Harvey.

Among the 14 board executives hearing D'Arcy's statement will be veteran IOC members Kevan Gosper and Phil Coles, and Olympians Peter Montgomery, Michael Wenden, Lynne Bates, Nick Green, Vikki Roberts and Tom King.

D'Arcy, who is due to appear in court in Sydney on June 17, has said that he was acting in self-defence.

D'Arcy dumped again, will appeal
 

June 11, 2008

THE Australian Olympic Committee has voted unanimously to sack swimmer Nick D'Arcy from its Beijing Games team.

But D'Arcy said he will again appeal the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

"I will appeal, it is already in the works,'' D'Arcy said after he was told of the AOC's decision.

The AOC executive rejected a submission from D'Arcy and his legal team that he was a fit and proper person to represent his country at the Olympics.

Chairman of the meeting, AOC vice-president Ron Harvey, said the members took into account the standards of behaviour expected of an Australian Olympian.

"To terminate the membership of an athlete from the Australian Olympic team is a very serious matter,'' he said.

"After careful consideration we have reached a decision based on that responsibility.''

The ruling restored an initial decision made in April by AOC president John Coates, which was subsequently overturned by the CAS after the swimmer appealed.

D'Arcy is due in court next week to answer a charge of recklessly causing grievous bodily harm to retired swimmer Simon Cowley, an offence which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years' jail.

D'Arcy said he would continue training for the Beijing Games until every last option open to him was exhausted.

its clear that he has anger issues and i dont think he should be a part of the team.

if he was a footballer he would be seen as a hero

D'Arcy's Olympic dream is over
 

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.

D'Arcy pleads guilty to assault
 

November 25, 2008 - 1:08PM

Australian swimmer Nick D'Arcy has pleaded guilty in a Sydney court to assaulting swimmer Simon Cowley.

The guilty plea to recklessly causing grievous bodily harm came after lengthy negotiations between the Director of Public Prosecutions and D'Arcy's defence team at Downing Centre Local Court.

D'Arcy will be sentenced in the same court in February and faces a maximum of 10 years in jail.

His coach Brian Stehr says it has been a difficult time.

"It means it's the beginning of the end of quite a stressful time for him but not just him, but also his family and all of us I guess," he said.

"We'll have to wait now until the new year to know the final outcome, but yeah, it'll be nice to have it all over with."

Stehr said D'Arcy now faces an anxious wait to find out if he faces jail time.

"I certainly hope that doesn't happen, there'd be very few people out there in on the streets who would think that Nick deserves that," he said.

"He certainly has paid already a large price for the incident and it would be nice if he could just get over that and get on with his life."

The assault on Cowley, a Commonwealth Games gold medallist, occurred on March 30, just hours after D'Arcy had won a spot on Australia's Olympic swimming team for Beijing.

Cowley sustained multiple fractures to his face and needed to have five permanent titanium plates fitted.

D'Aarcy was subsequently axed for bringing his sport and team into disrepute.

D'Arcy did not attend court today and instead had solicitor Jack Leitner enter the guilty plea on his behalf.

But Mr Leitner was at pains to stress that D'Arcy was not the instigator.

"It is true that there was a physical altercation between Simon Cowley and my client, whereupon without any warning Simon Cowley slapped my client to the face," Mr Leitner said outside court.

"Cowley then attempted to introduce himself and approached my client shortly thereafter and my client, fearing another strike, responded by punching Cowley once to the face.

"Although my client acted defensively, his response to the threat of Mr Cowley was excessive in the circumstances."

D'Arcy launched his swimming comeback in October at a short course World Cup event in Sydney.

Courtesy of the Daily Telegraph

'I just hope D'Arcy can learn'

February 20, 2009 05:10pm

COMMONWEALTH Games medallist Simon Cowley has told a magistrate of the devastating effects of being assaulted by fellow swimmer Nick D'Arcy.

Mr Cowley, 28, said the physical and emotional effects had been "extremely disturbing and very profound''.

He was reading out his victim impact statement in Sydney's Downing Centre Local Court at the sentencing hearing for D'Arcy, who himself later took the stand to apologise for his actions and tell of his remorse.

D'Arcy has pleaded guilty to recklessly inflicting grievous bodily harm on March 30 last year.

After the hearing, Mr Cowley said he appreciated D'Arcy's apology but declined to say he accepted it.

"I haven't really had a lot of time to process it,'' he told reporters.

"It was very difficult to stand up there and give my victim impact statement and I realise there have been things preventing Nicholas D'Arcy from giving a public apology on legal advice.

"It is good to be able to finally get some form of apology from Nicholas D'Arcy.

"I've got no doubt that he is very sorry for what he's done.

"I just hope that he can learn from this and be a better person at the outcome and hopefully he doesn't do this to anyone else and no one else has to suffer at the hands of Nick D'Arcy.''

Darcy, 21, was dumped from Australia's Olympic team for Beijing after being charged with the attack, which left Mr Cowley with numerous fractures including to his jaw and eye socket.

"Before this criminal act I was an extremely fit, confident and happy person,'' Mr Cowley early told the court.

But as a result of his injury, he underwent major operations where plates and screws were inserted in his face, and lost 12 kilograms in five weeks.

"I became aware there was serious difficulties with my bite and it became necessary to undergo orthodontic treatment,'' he said.

He now has braces, which he will have to wear for about two years, and if this treatment is not successful, he will have to undergo more surgery.

"I find it very distressing to have to wear braces at this time in my life.''

He said he had struggled to deal with the intense media exposure he attracted as a result of the assault, and now gets anxious in crowded social situations.

"Sometimes I cannot relax as I am fearful I will be attacked again,'' Mr Cowley said.

Giving evidence later, D'Arcy took the opportunity to offer a face-to-face apology.

"It may not be possible for you to forgive me now, but one day I hope it is a possibility,'' he said, looking at Mr Cowley, who had a front row seat in the court.

"I am extremely sorry. If there's anything I could do to take it back, I would.''

D'Arcy said while he had apologised to Mr Cowley before, his lawyers had advised him not to apologise personally before today's hearing.

D'Arcy also told the court he now realised he had an alcohol problem and referred to an exchange he had at the birthday party of swimmer and friend Kenrick Monk in January.

He said a security guard had told him to leave the bar, and D'Arcy had responded saying ``one hit is all it takes''.

The hearing is continuing before Magistrate John Favretto.

According to the agreed statement of facts before the court, D'Arcy had been celebrating his Australian swimming team selection early on March 30 last year when the assault occurred at The Loft bar in Darling Harbour.

Nick D'Arcy has been kicked out of the Australian swim team again
 

Courtesy of Fox Sports

April 07, 2009

Nick D'Arcy has been kicked off Australia's swim team for the World Championships in Rome.

Australian swimming officials have released a statement confirming the decision and explaining in detail why the butterflier has been removed from the team, despite qualifying at the recent Australian championships.

"On 22 March 2009, Nicholas D'Arcy was selected as a member of the Australian swim team for the 2009 FINA world championships," said a Swimming Australia statement.

"On 24 March 2009 and as a condition of membership on the Australian swim team, Nicholas D'Arcy agreed to be bound by the Swimming Australia Limited (Swimming Australia) Team By-Laws.

"Following Nicholas D'Arcy's conviction, the Board of Swimming Australia met on 6 April 2009 and unanimously resolved that Nicholas D'Arcy's membership of the Australian swim team to compete in Rome at the 2009 FINA world championships be terminated immediately under Swimming Australia Team By-Law 17.1.

"The resolution of the Board of Swimming Australia does not affect the investigation being undertaken by the Swimming Australia Judiciary Committee as to whether Nicholas D'Arcy has breached Swimming Australia's General By-Laws.

"Swimming Australia notes that the decision to exclude Nicholas D'Arcy from the 2008 Australian Olympic Team was made by the Australian Olympic Committee and not Swimming Australia."

Australian swim officials found it would be detrimental to the team if a member with a serious criminal history competed in the event, which begins in July.

The decision has the potential to split the Australian team because D'Arcy has support from several big-names, who believe he suffered sufficient punishment by being thrown out of the Olympic Games.

D’Arcy levelled former swimmer Simon Cowley with a punch during a boozy night of celebration following Australia’s national trials last year.

A judge handed D'Arcy a 14-month suspended jail sentence last month after he pleaded guilty to recklessly inflicting grievous bodily harm.

D'Arcy says he was provoked by Cowley, with the court accepting his case of self-defence.

The Queenslander had qualified for the world titles after smashing the national record for the 200m butterfly during last month’s trials.