Olympic swimmers facing bans for failing drug-test ‘whereabouts’ obligations

Three Australian swimmers face legal battles to avoid bans that would rule them out of the Commonwealth Games.

Rio Olympics 200m butterfly silver medallist Madeline Groves is fighting a ban. Picture: Alex Coppel.

Swimming Australia has admitted to a problem with swimmers missing drug tests, as three members of the Rio Olympic team face legal battles to avoid bans that would rule them out of next year’s Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.

An SA spokesman said yesterday a “pattern” of missed tests meant the three had three strikes against their names and several others were on two strikes.

Olympic 200m butterfly silver medallist Madeline Groves and Olympic teammates Tom Fraser-Holmes and Jarrod Poort have fallen foul of the anti-doping code by failing to accurately complete their “whereabouts’’ forms after last year’s Rio Games.

All elite athletes are required to nominate one hour each day in which they will be at a certain place and available for drug-­testing. If the testers arrive during that hour and the athlete is not there, a strike is placed against their name. Three strikes within 12 months exposes athletes to the threat of a competition ban.

Swimming Australia chief executive Mark Anderson said: “We have detected a pattern where a number of athletes have missed tests post-Rio when they have been out of training, but at no stage can they switch off from the whereabouts process.’’

Brisbane sports lawyer Tim Fuller, who is representing Groves and Fraser-Holmes in the cases brought by the International Swimming Federation, said there were extenuating circumstances around the third test in each case.

He said Groves, who is training in the US, was where she had told the drug-testers she would be but they had failed to find her because the front office of the apartment complex was closed when she arrived­. She has witnesses who can verify that she was there at the appoin­ted time.

Mr Fuller said Fraser-Holmes tried to change his whereabouts information when he realised he would be late home from dinner with his mother but he had already missed the testers.

“I think there’s a reasonable chance for both of them to have the third missed test dismissed,’’ he said. “These are technical breaches where there was no intent to avoid testing and the burden they may bear is a suspension of one to two years, which would rule them out of a home Commonwealth Games, so it’s a huge situation for them … it’s creating a lot of stress.’’

Fraser-Holmes is expected to face a hearing in June, while Groves will have the opportunity to put her case later in the year.

Both made themselves unavailable for the Australian team this year and did not contest the national­ trials last month. Open-water swimmer Poort was due to compete at the world titles­ in Budapest in July but Swimming Australia confirmed yesterday he had withdrawn from the team.

Anderson said he addressed the team at the national trials last month to remind them of their whereabouts obligations. Those on the Olympic team had done an online education course conduct­ed by the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority last year.

He said swimmers who recorded strikes were reminded by email and phone messages afterwards to keep their whereabouts inform­ation up-to-date.

It was “extremely disappointing’’ that some swimmers were not paying sufficient attention to the process when a failure could endanger­ their careers and reput­ations. “We have and we will continue­ to support our athletes through this process but, for all athletes, this is a timely reminder about the seriousness of ensuring the information you provide is correct­ and current,’’ he said.

Commonwealth Games 400m gold medallist John Steffensen, revealed­ on Nine’s Wide World of Sports yesterday he had three whereabouts failures at one stage, but escaped a banon a technicality. However, javelin thrower Jarrod Bannister served a 20-month ban after a similar breach in 2012.