Nick D'Arcy
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Nicholas James D'Arcy (born 23 July 1987) is a retired national-record holding
butterfly Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...
swimmer Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water (e.g., in a sea or lake). Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic ...
from Australia. He was removed from Australia's 2008 Olympic team due to a violent altercation that happened shortly after the Australian Olympic Trials. He was also removed from Australia's team to the 2009 World Championships after being convicted for the same incident. In March 2012 D'arcy was selected as a team member for the
2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
. He was raised in Queensland on the Sunshine Coast but currently lives in Brisbane.


Career

At the
2007 World Aquatics Championships The 2007 World Aquatics Championships, or the XII FINA World Championships, were held in Melbourne, Australia from 17 March to 1 April 2007. The competition took place at three locations in central Melbourne: the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic C ...
in Melbourne, Victoria, D'Arcy competed in the 200 m butterfly, where he came 14th in the heats in a time of 1 min 57.88 s, scraping into the semifinals by 0.09 s. He improved his time to 1 min 57.15 s to finish 12th, missing the final by 0.68 s. The
2008 Australian Swimming Championships The 2008 Telstra Australian Swimming Championships were held at the Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia from 22–29 March 2008. The championships were used as the Australian trials for the 2008 Olympic Game ...
held in March in Sydney, were used to select the Australian swimming team for the Beijing Olympics. D'Arcy broke the Australian record for the 200 m butterfly in the semifinals, before setting a new Commonwealth record of 1 m 55.10 s in the final. The victory earned D'Arcy selection for the Olympics and was the tenth fastest time ever recorded in the event. The 2009 Australian Swimming Championships held in March in Sydney, which are used to select the Australian swimming team for the 2009 World Championships, D'Arcy broke his own Australian Record in the 200 m butterfly in the final, winning in 1:54.46. In March 2010, he qualified for Australia's teams to the
2010 Commonwealth Games The 2010 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Delhi 2010, were an international multi-sport event for the members of the Commonwealth that was held in Delhi, India, from 3 to 14 October 201 ...
and Pan Pacific Championships. He came second at the Pan Pacific Championships behind
Michael Phelps Michael Fred Phelps II (born June 30, 1985) is an American former competitive swimmer. He is the most successful and most decorated Olympian of all time with a total of 28 medals. Phelps also holds the all-time records for Olympic gold me ...
. Prior to competing at the 2010 Commonwealth Games, an out of competition drug test revealed the presence of
formoterol Formoterol, also known as eformoterol, is a long-acting β2 agonist (LABA) used as a bronchodilator in the management of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Formoterol has an extended duration of action (up to 12 h) ...
. Although there were initial concerns, the drug was permitted as an
asthma Asthma is a common long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wh ...
medication under special exemptions, and it was later revealed that the problem was the result of a mistake in processing paperwork for his exemption. The exemption was provided and backdated, and D'Arcy was permitted to compete in the games. At the Commonwealth Games, D'Arcy was expected to take home the gold medal in the 200 m butterfly as his fastest time for the year was more than two seconds faster than any of the other entrants, but he failed to qualify for the final after a slow heat. On 20 June 2011, D'Arcy won the 200m Butterfly at the Santa Clara International Grand Prix, beating 14-time Olympic gold medallist
Michael Phelps Michael Fred Phelps II (born June 30, 1985) is an American former competitive swimmer. He is the most successful and most decorated Olympian of all time with a total of 28 medals. Phelps also holds the all-time records for Olympic gold me ...
in a time of 1 m 55.39 s. D’Arcy trailed Phelps for practically the entire race before pipping him at the final touch. D'arcy won Gold in the 200-metre butterfly with a time of 1 m 54.71 s at the 2012 Australian Swimming Championships in Adelaide. At the conclusion of the championships on 22 March, D'arcy was named as a member of the Australian swimming team for the London Olympics. at the London 2012 Olympics Nick D'Arcy was eliminated in the semi-finals. In October 2013, D'Arcy announced his retirement from swimming.


Controversies

On 31 March 2008, D'Arcy was charged with
assault In the terminology of law, an assault is the act of causing physical harm or consent, unwanted physical contact to another person, or, in some legal definitions, the threat or attempt to do so. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may ...
after a brawl with former Commonwealth Games triple gold medalist
Simon Cowley Simon Cowley (born 4 October 1980) is a former Australian breaststroke swimmer. In March 2008, he was assaulted by Nick D'Arcy at a pub in Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South ...
on the night D'Arcy was named to the Australian Olympic team. He was later charged with inflicting grievous bodily harm. On 3 April 2008, a second athlete, Tim Peach, came forward claiming he was also assaulted by D'Arcy. D'Arcy was granted conditional bail to appear in court on 21 April 2008. He pleaded guilty to one charge of recklessly inflicting grievous bodily harm, the victim suffered fractures to his jaw, eye socket, hard palate, cheek bone and nose. On 18 April, the
Australian Olympic Committee The Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) is the National Olympic Committee responsible for developing, promoting, and protecting the Olympic Movement in Australia. The AOC has the exclusive responsibility for the representation of Australia at ...
(AOC) dropped D'Arcy from its 2008 Olympic team, claiming that the swimmer had brought the team into disrepute. D'Arcy subsequently appealed to the
Court of Arbitration for Sport The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS; , TAS) is an international body established in 1984 to settle disputes related to sport through arbitration. Its headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland, and its courts are located in New York City, Sy ...
(CAS), which confirmed the AOC's decision. However, CAS also found that the decision to expel D'Arcy should not have been made solely by the President of the AOC John Coates, but instead by the entire AOC Board. The AOC Board subsequently unanimously decided to withdraw D'Arcy's membership from the team on 11 June 2008. D'Arcy appealed the AOC Board's decision to CAS, which rejected this appeal on 16 June 2008. In March 2009, D'Arcy received a jail sentence of 14 months and 12 days, suspended on condition of good behavior. On 6 April 2009, he was dropped from Australia's team to the 2009 World Championships by
Swimming Australia Swimming Australia is the peak governing body for competitive swimming in Australia. The body has approximately 100,000 registered members nationally in 1100 clubs across the country, which includes swimmers, coaches, officials, administrators ...
. Former Australian swimming captain
Grant Hackett Grant George Hackett Order of Australia, OAM (born 9 May 1980) is an Australian swimmer, most famous for winning the men's 1500 metres freestyle swimming, freestyle race at both the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney and the 2004 Summer Olympics in ...
supported D'Arcy's return to swimming once his ban was served. On 27 June 2011 Cowley commenced proceedings in the NSW District Court to sue D'Arcy for damages arising from the altercation with D'Arcy. In December 2011, after Cowley had been awarded $180,000 in damages, D'Arcy declared himself bankrupt, bringing his representation of Australia at the London Olympics in 2012 in jeopardy. In June 2012 D'Arcy and another swimmer
Kenrick Monk Kenrick John Monk (born 1 January 1988) is an Australian swimmer who competed in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, as well as at an international level through the FINA World Aquatics Championships, Pan Pa ...
posed with guns at a USA gunshop, then Monk posted these photos on his Facebook page. The controversy that followed in Australia was another incident that distracted attention from D'Arcy's swimming achievements and his preparation for the London Olympics. The two swimmers were told by the Australian Olympic Committee they would have to head back to Australia after their Olympic events "for bringing the sport into disrepute". It has been reported that senior members of the Australian swimming team consider this a precautionary measure designed to prevent any further potential for controversy from these two swimmers at the Olympics. In October 2013, D'Arcy announced his retirement from swimming.Controversial swimmer Nick D'Arcy announces his retirement
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References


External links

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Nicholas D'Arcy
at the
Australian Olympic Committee The Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) is the National Olympic Committee responsible for developing, promoting, and protecting the Olympic Movement in Australia. The AOC has the exclusive responsibility for the representation of Australia at ...
(archived) * * {{DEFAULTSORT:D'Arcy, Nick 1987 births Living people Olympic swimmers for Australia Australian male butterfly swimmers Swimmers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Swimmers from Brisbane Sportspeople from the Sunshine Coast Sportsmen from Queensland Australian sportspeople convicted of crimes 21st-century Australian criminals 21st-century Australian sportsmen