Paris 2024: Olympians to be warned they must disclose any secrets before the Games

As Brendan Kerry continues to fight for his innocence, Australian Olympians bound for Paris will be reminded of their obligations to disclose any “integrity related matter”. JULIAN LINDEN reports.

Brendan Kerry performing in Beijing at the 2022 Winter Olympic Games. Picture: Justin Setterfield/Getty Images

Australian athletes who are picked for the upcoming Paris Olympics will be reminded that they have an obligation to divulge any skeletons in their cupboard following revelations ice skater Brendan Kerry carried the national flag at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics while being investigated for alleged sexual misconduct.

Under the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) rules, all athletes are required to reveal whether they have been involved in any integrity related issues before their place on the team is confirmed.

But Kerry, who had already been investigated by the US Center for SafeSport over alleged sexual misconduct involving a minor, did not disclose that he had previously been under scrutiny.

Kerry, who was subsequently given the honour of carrying the Australian flag at the opening ceremony, has said he thought his case was closed, but it apparently wasn’t.

Last month, the US Center for SafeSport announced Kerry had been banned for life from any involvement in figure skating in America.

Kerry, 29, has maintained his innocence and is appealing against the findings, which were never treated as criminal charges.

Brendan Kerry performing at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics where he was Australian flag bearer. Picture: Matthew Stockman/Getty Images

But when quizzed on the case Wednesday, AOC officials said Kerry still should have declared the matter to team officials before he was picked for Beijing.

“Under our Team Membership Agreement (TMA), all athletes are required to disclose any integrity related matter,” AOC legal counsel Maryann Muggleston said.

“There’s a section in the TMA where they can fill out that section and inform us, so it’s required as part of that process.

“An athlete needs to have signed a team membership agreement to be considered for selection by the AOC selection committee.”

Australian Olympic Committee chief executive officer Matt Carroll. Picture: Matt King/Getty Images for the AOC

Under its strict rules on athlete eligibility, the AOC retains the right not to select anyone it considers may have breached regulations contained in its Ethical Behaviour By-Laws or other policies.

In 2008, swimmer Nick D’Arcy was dumped from the Australian team for the Beijing Summer Olympics for bringing the sport into disrepute when he punched a teammate and broke his jaw during a boozy night out.

The AOC chief executive Matt Carroll said Kerry’s place in the team for Beijing would have been left to the selection committee if he had notified them about the investigation.

“That would have had to be dealt with by the selection committee at the time which would obviously had to make that decision,” Carroll said.

“There’s two parts to that. One is actually to be in the team, and if the decision was he wasn’t in the team, he obviously wouldn’t have carried the flag.”

Australian swimmer Nick D'Arcy was suspended from the national team for the 2008 Beijing Olympics after breaking teammate Simon Cowley's jaw in a bar fight. Picture: Supplied

Carroll said everyone picked for Paris would be subject to the same questioning before their places were confirmed.

“We do that consistently, whether it’s the Summer team, we did it for the Winter team, we do it for the youth teams as well. It’s very important,” Carroll said.

“There’s been issues over the decades of not providing information and so we reinforce that it’s very important to make that declaration, both for the athlete themselves rather than find out about it later and also for the Australian Olympic team.”

Originally published as Paris 2024: Olympians to be warned they must disclose any secrets before the Games