Swimmer Nick D'Arcy will miss the Beijing Olympics after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) rejected an appeal against his expulsion from the Australian team.
The 20-year-old 200 metres butterfly Commonwealth record holder was thrown off the Australian team in April by Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) president John Coates after he allegedly assaulted former swimmer Simon Cowley in a Sydney bar.
Coates ruled that D'Arcy had breached AOC guidelines by bringing the sport into disrepute and ordered his removal from the team.
D'Arcy appealed to CAS, which ruled that while the swimmer had brought himself into disrepute, Coates alone did not have the power to remove a person from the team. CAS said the decision had to be made by the AOC executive board.
After the board backed Coates's decision, D'Arcy again appealed to CAS which ruled in the AOC's favour after a five-hour hearing in Sydney today.
D'Arcy's lawyer, Jack Leitner, told said afterwards that it was now "the end of the line".
"I can't really comment too much on how he feels but there's probably some mixed emotions, bitter disappointment but perhaps relief it has been resolved," Leitner said.
Leitner said D'Arcy had already returned to Queensland and would not be present in a Sydney criminal court tomorrow for a second hearing. He is charged with recklessly causing grievous bodily harm to Cowley, an offence that carries a maximum sentence of 10 years' jail.