Is there something in the water destroying Australia’s swimmers?

THORPE. Hackett. And now Huegill. Something is turning our swimming legends into troubled souls ... and one former swimmer claims it could be in the water.

A WAVE of behavioural issues involving Australia’s former superstars of the pool has led to questions over whether or not there is a link between professional swimming and depression.

A day after it was revealed that dual Olympic medallist Geoff Huegill had been charged with drug possession, a former professional swimmer has spoken out about her battle with depression, claiming she suffered copper toxicity from overexposure to chlorine in her childhood and teenage years.

The woman, who chose to remain anonymous, urged her fellow swimmers to undergo testing, saying the diagnosis turned her life around.

“I don’t know if that’s what these guys have got. Obviously, that’s got to be tested,” the ex-swimmer told Triple M’s The Grill Team.

“But I started noticing problems at about 16, 17. I started getting really fatigued. Doctors didn’t know what it was, they started putting me on anti-depressants. Obviously that made it worse.

“It got to the stage where I couldn’t get out of bed.

“It wasn’t until I went to a naturopath - they did hair samples and figured out that I had really bad copper toxicity, which was from the chlorine in the water.

Former Australian swimmer Geoff Huegill and his wife Sara Hills have been charged with possession of illicit drugs.

“Chlorine actually blocks your body’s ability to get rid of excess copper,” the woman continued.

“It really only impacts people when they’re young – so if you start swimming when you’re four or five, up until your teenage years.

“I didn’t start noticing symptoms until after puberty. I don’t know if that could be what the guys have got, but it would be worth getting (tested).

“There’s about four girls who I used to swim with who had similar symptoms.

“Some doctors know about it, but prescription medication just makes it worse.”

More: Huegill apologises after drug charge

Australian Medical Association president Steve Hambleton said there was no evidence to suggest excessive exposure to chlorine caused copper toxicity, adding that hair testing was not a suitable method for determining whether or not a person was suffering from the condition.

“There is a condition called Wilson’s disease, which is a condition of copper toxicity, and it occurs in about one in 30,000 individuals where they have an abnormality of absorption of copper and they can’t get rid of it out of their diet,” Hambleton told news.com.au.

“First of all you need to be exposed to a source of the heavy metal, and the major source of copper is actually in the diet. It’s legumes, meats, shellfish, chocolate – none of which would be focused on being a swimmer.

Ian Thorpe was admitted to rehab earlier this year to treat depression.

“The syndrome of copper toxicity is almost always associated with liver cirrhosis and there are a whole bunch of signs and symptoms … but all of these occur with serious amounts of copper in the system.

“Hair testing is unreliable and not recommended and may have more to do with the brand of shampoo than how much copper is in the system.

“What we need to test is things like urinary excretion of copper rates and the copper transport molecule levels.

“It is easy to test it medically.

“I would recommend that anyone who has concerns about their health should be seeing a medical practitioner or a practitioner whose training is based on science, on evidence.”

More: The fall of Australian swimming’s golden generation

Huegill’s arrest is the latest in a string of controversies involving former Australian swimming stars.

Ian Thorpe was admitted to rehab earlier this year to be treated for a decade-long battle with depression, while Grant Hackett was seen wandering shirtless through Melbourne Crown Casino in February and was treated for a sleeping pill addiction.

Atlanta silver medallist Scott Miller’s criminal convictions include drug offences, stolen goods and prohibited weapons, while he also struggled with an addiction to ice, saying the drug “got me by the balls”.

What are your thoughts on the copper toxicity theory? Send your tweets to @cam_tomarchio.