Swimmer Emma McKeon will be allowed to attend the Rio closing ceremony after successfully contesting the decision to ban her, Australian Olympic Committee chef de mission Kitty Chiller has confirmed.
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Palmer had a rougher night. This is thought to be about 4.30am.
Palmer headed to a beach kiosk with a friend and continued drinking.
Chiller said Palmer was found later by two businessmen in Copacabana who reported the swimmer was disoriented and had lost his wallet and phone.
His night ended with him being “forced” to withdraw $1000 from an ATM.
“McKeon chose to stay the night with swimming friends in the Copa district without informing Team Management”, Chiller said in a statement.
The decision to ban McKeon, who is tipped to be Australia’s flag bearer at the ceremony, even drew the ire of high-profile stars from other sports, including former Australian wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist.
The swimming team management also imposed a 2:00am curfew on all team members for the rest of the Games.
The International Olympic Committee has ruled out a blanket ban on athletes leaving the Olympic village to see the sights and sounds of Rio, describing such a step as “a bit crazy”.
But Chiller said she was persuaded to change her mind, allowing McKeon to attend tonight’s official team dinner and participate inMonday’s (AEST) closing ceremony, after the swimmer wrote a letter with a tone indicating she understood AOC protocols.
It is interesting that he has not elected to make a formal complaint to the police about the robbery, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that he isn’t telling the truth.
McKeon’s brother, David, who was fifth in the men’s 400m freestyle in Rio, later tweeted: “Get to walk with my sister Emma McKeon at the closing”.
“Given the security problems we have encountered over the past few weeks I find the behaviour of the disciplined athletes disrespectful to the remainder of the Team”.
Swimming Australia has released a statement saying while both athletes had conducted themselves professionally throughout competition, these “isolated incidents” deserved sanctions, not just for them, but for the entire team.
The unnamed athlete from the British Olympics team is believed to have been targeted in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
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On the petition’s website that Wright agrees that she feels McKeon should be held accountable, but that the extent of the punishment was a “knee jerk overraction”.
