Olympian Maddie Groves takes aim at Swimming Australia boss Kieren Perkins

Olympian Maddie Groves says she doesn’t think Kieren Perkins is the person to lead Swimming Australia and questioned his trust.

Olympian Maddie Groves is alarmed the “independent” report on swimming’s culture will be handed to Swimming Australia president Kieren Perkins, after he publicly stated he did not believe the sport had a “deep, endemic issue”.

Groves went as far as to say she did not think Perkins was the person to lead Swimming Australia, questioned his trust and said his recent comments were “absolutely shocking and totally irresponsible”.

Perkins in an interview in June also said he would “defy anyone to suggest there’s a cultural issue in swimming at the moment”.

In the series of Instagram posts on Thursday night Groves also revealed Perkins’s public denial of “deep” issues in the sport happened after she had a private meeting with the Swimming Australia president and made him aware of almost 80 claims of misconduct by other members of the swimming community.

“To ‘defy anyone to suggest there’s a cultural issue’ while there is an ongoing investigation is absolutely shocking and totally irresponsible,” Groves wrote on Instagram. “How could anyone trust that Kieren will act on the report when he is already openly denying there are problems despite already being told about them?”

“Is this the right person to lead Australia’s premier Olympic sport into the future. I don’t think so. What about you?”

Groves’s scathing assessment of Swimming Australia’s leadership, came just before the formal announcement that the sport was finally signing up to Sports Integrity Australia’s national framework — which will include an independent complaints handling process.

Groves sensationally withdrew from this year’s Olympic swim team trials and made claims of a misogynistic, “pervy” culture, where swimmers were “body shamed”.

“In late June I met with Kieren and the former CEO of swimming Australia (Alex Baumann) to allege some specific misconduct by current employees of Swimming Australia,” Groves wrote.

“I also mentioned that I had received a significant number of messages from people reporting misconduct in Australian Swimming (from roughly 78 people at the time, I’ve had many more since) and at that time several people were willing to sign sworn affidavits outlining misconduct.

“Despite knowing this, and the fact there is an ongoing investigation going on into Swimming Australian, Kieren thought it was appropriate to say these things publicly.”

“When this article came out — I had people contact me saying they no longer felt comfortable making a submission because of these comments.”

Groves appealed on her Instagram for swimmers to complain to the Swimming Australia independent panel, which is focusing on the treatment of women and girls in the sport over the last five years.

The submissions from swimmers, coaches and those in the swimming community will be collated and presented in a report to Perkins and the chair of the Australian Sports Commission Josephine Sukkar.

Following Groves’s claims back in June, several swimmers have come forward to support her claims, including former promising young star Darian Quadro, who called out barbaric training methods that left her suicidal.

Four-time Olympian Emily Seebohm has also detailed her spiral into an eating disorder in 2019 after she was told by a swimming official to lose weight.

On Friday it was announced the Swimming Australia board had agreed to include the operation of an independent complaints handling process to be managed by Sport Integrity Australia.

Perkins has met regularly with Sport Integrity Australia CEO David Sharpe in recent months to work through what the decision would mean for Swimming Australia.

“Working more closely with Sport Integrity Australia reinforces the hard work Swimming Australia has already done in staying at the forefront of member protection and safe sport,” Perkins said.

Sharpe welcomed the move and said athletes were the winners with this decision.

“I commend the board for taking this important step, which will mean athletes and participants can have confidence their complaints will be addressed independently,” Sharpe said. “This will also mean a stronger working relationship for us with swimming, one of Australia’s largest participation sports, on integrity matters generally.”

Meanwhile, winter Olympian Scott Kneller has been elected chair of the Australian Olympic Committee’s athletes’ commission, with swimmer Cate Campbell as deputy.

Kneller, who represented Australia in ski cross at the Vancouver and Sochi Winter Games, and Campbell were elected at the commission’s first meeting since the Tokyo Olympics. They replace former chair Steve Hooker and deputy Kim Brennan.

“I am very grateful to be carrying on this important work of representing the athletes and giving them a meaningful voice,” Kneller said. “We have new blood and new enthusiasm on the commission and I look forward to working with all of them.”

Campbell said she was ready to step up to a bigger role.

“Having been a member of the AC for a number of years, I am excited to take on a slightly larger role. My sincere thanks to Steve Hooker and Kim Brennan who have worked tirelessly over the past five years.

AOC president John Coates welcomed the appointments.

“Scott and Cate will add tremendous value as full voting members of the AOC executive,” he said. “The athlete voice has always been of critical importance and both Scott and Cate bring experience and understanding.”