CAS rejects D'Arcy's final appeal

Nick D'Arcy's fight to be included in the Australian Olympic team for the Beijing Games is officially over.

The controversial swimmer had his final avenue of appeal rejected by the Court of
Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

An Australian Olympic Committee spokesperson confirmed that the CAS had knocked back
D'Arcy's appeal against a decision made last week by the AOC executive board.

That unanimous decision by the 14-member AOC board had backed an earlier decision by
its president John Coates to sack him from the team.

Coates stood aside from the decision by the board and did not attend the meeting at
which D'Arcy made a personal plea to stay on the Olympic team.
It is the end of a drawn out saga - at least from an Olympic perspective - that
started when D'Arcy allegedly assaulted former swimmer Simon Cowley in a Sydney bar
incident in the early hours of March 30.

He was subsequently kicked off the team by Coates for bringing himself, his sport
and the Olympic team into disrepute.

An initial appeal to CAS found that, while D'Arcy had brought himself into
disrepute, in breach of the AOC guidelines, the AOC chief did not have the authority
alone to remove the swimmer from the team.

It was then referred back to the AOC executive board who concurred with Coates' view
that D'Arcy should not be allowed to compete in Beijing.
D'Arcy immediately appealed that decision.

But he was again unsuccessful after a five-hour CAS hearing in Sydney.
The CAS has not yet revealed its reasons for rejecting D'Arcy's appeal.

D'Arcy's legal team did not return calls on Monday night.
While his fight to be included in the Olympic team may be over, D'Arcy has another
battle on his hands starting.

He is due in court to answer a charge of recklessly causing grievous bodily harm to
Cowley, an offence which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years' jail.