Hard partying costs Aussie swimmers Emma McKeon and Josh Palmer cop sanctions

AUSTRALIA’S notorious swim team has again being sanctioned after the nation’s Olympic bosses admitted they lost track of them for up to half a day.

Emma McKeon of Australia speaks during a press conference.

AUSTRALIA’S notorious swim team has again being sanctioned after the nation’s Olympic bosses admitted they lost track of them for up to half a day.

Breaststroker Josh Palmer, 25, and four-time Rio medallist Emma McKeon, 22, were banned from the closing ceremony and handed a 8pm strict curfew after they didn’t return to the athletes village after a night out in Copacabana’s party district.

Palmer was found disoriented and blind drunk on a Copacabana Beach at 2pm after a drinking session that started at 10pm the previous night.

He had been held up at gunpoint and forced to withdraw $1000 at an ATM, but refused to file a police report after the Ryan Lochte fiasco this week.

Rio Olympics 2016. The Australian Swim Team having some fun on Copacobana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The swimmers turned up to Support Jarrod Poort in the Marathon Swim. Emma McKeon. Picture: Alex Coppel.

Only when he was discovered by an Australian businessman who alerted the Australian consulate was our Olympic team aware he was missing.

McKeon was arguably unlucky to be penalised after failing to text team bosses when she stayed overnight in Copacabana with friends from the Swedish swim team after an all-night party.

She missed a scheduled 7.30am Sunrise television cross and Australian officials who presumed she was in bed hung over only realised when she returned to the village around 10am.

News Corp understands a group of athletes including James Magnussen, Josh Beaver, Brittany Elmslie and Travis Mahoney celebrated at Heineken House from around 10am then moved to the nightclub Miroir Club.

Then after moving to a Copacabana beach kiosk for a drink with Herald Sun lawyer Justin Quill he began drinking alone.

It is not clear whether he continued drinking until he was spotted at 2pm, or fell asleep on the beach.

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL - AUGUST 13: Emma McKeon of Australia competes in the Women's 4 x 100m Medley Relay Final on Day 8 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium on August 13, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Adam Pretty/Getty Images)

Witnesses say he was not taking illicit drugs, with chef de mission Kitty Chiller unable to detail whether he was under the influence yesterday.

The entire swim team has been slapped with a 2am curfew, having consistently ignored Chiller’s pleas to celebrate at one of three venues in the safer Barra area.

Chiller has revealed future Olympic teams could send home athletes who compete early in the 16-day competition to ensure other athletes are not distracted.

Swimming Australia chief executive Mark Anderson was adamant the breaches related to safety protocols and not bad behaviour.

“Our athletes safety, health and wellbeing is of paramount importance and the sanctions applied reinforces this position for the two involved athletes and the team,” he 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.”

Chiller she is serious about a review that might see athletes sent home several days after competing, a policy many European nations have adopted.

“That will certainly come into our review. We put increased protocols into place for this Games to ensure a high-performance environment at the village remains in place,’’ she said.

“If we need to go further to ensure that remains in place and also the safety of our athletes remains in place, absolutely it’s something we would look at.

“Everything we put in place is not (about being) the fun police, it’s not the party poopers, it is ensuring their safety remains paramount.”

Chiller said Palmer’s ban related to his failure to alert officials about his whereabouts rather than confusion over the ATM robbery.

McKeon tweeted yesterday: “To clarify, I’ve followed AOC safety protocol in not travelling to village alone. My error was not texting my team manager.”

Her brother David, who is also on the Rio team, retweeted posts in support of his sister yesterday.

Australia’s swim team believe they have overhauled their culture after a litany of issues including bullying claims, Stilnox abuse and Grant Hackett’s continued alcohol and drug issues.

Originally published as Hard partying costs Aussie swimmers Emma McKeon and Josh Palmer cop sanctions