Australian swimming legend Leisel Jones has hit back at claims that Emily Seebohm was told to stay away from the Australian swimming team camp as they prepare for an international competition in Japan.
Seebohm, who recently split up with fellow swimmer Mitch Larkin, joined the team for the last three days of a two week training camp in Cairns in the lead up to the Pan Pacific Championships in Tokyo.
Speaking on Sports Sunday, Jones said that she would have to question reports that Seebohm was told to stay away so as not to affect Larkin’s preparation.
Seebohm (right), who recently split up with fellow swimmer Mitch Larkin (left), joined the team for the last three days of a two week training camp in Cairns
Leisel Jones has hit back at claims that Emily Seebohm was told to stay away from the Australian swimming team camp as they prepare for an international competition in Japan
‘I don’t think the heads of Swimming Australia would ever tell Emily not to come into camp,’ Jones said.
‘They’re always about fairness, they always want people together as a team, and they would never tell anyone ‘you can’t come into camp because of what’s going on with that person.’
‘I think that would have been more Emily’s choice.’
The pair split at the beginning of July after a two-year relationship which saw them move into a Brisbane home together.
The two-week Cairns camp was held to prepare the swim team for the upcoming Pan Pacs in Japan from August 9 to 14.
Swimming star Emily Seebohm (back) was reportedly told by officials to ‘stay away’ from the Australian Swim Team’s camp in Cairns after split from boyfriend Mitch Larkin (front)
The high profile came amid rumours Larkin, 25, had allegedly been engaged in an affair with an athlete who is not part of the Australian Swim Team
A source inside the camp told the Courier Mail that officials asked Seebohm to stay away from camp because they had concerns she could ‘upset Mitch’s prep’
Seebohm arrived in Cairns ahead of the training camp on Wednesday and smiled for the cameras before she was given the bad news
A source inside the camp said officials asked Seebohm to stay away from camp because they had concerns she could ‘upset Mitch’s prep’, The Courier Mail reported.
‘They said it would be in her best interest to stay home or delay attending,’ the source said.
Seebohm arrived in Cairns on Wednesday and smiled for the cameras before she was reportedly given the bad news, News.com.au reported.
Australian swimming head coach Jacco Verhaeren also spoke about the saga when he landed in Cairns on Wednesday.
Australian swimming head coach Jacco Verhaeren also spoke about the saga when he landed in Cairns on Wednesday saying the team keeps those matters private
‘This team is very strong. Every athlete, including Mitch and Emily, are very professional, they are both committed to achieving their dreams and hopes; nothing gets in the way of that,’ he told awaiting media.
Seebohm took to social media to address the break up directly by writing that ‘due to current events’ the pair would be separating.
The champion swimmer also sent out a number of social media posts prior to today’s report.
‘I’m over the drama you created. Now you can deal with what comes next,’ she wrote in one post.
‘The sad thing is, I actually thought you were different,’ she wrote in another.
The champion swimmer also sent out a number of thinly veiled social media posts prior to today’s announcement
The pair were seen leaving training separately, prior to the Australian team heading to Cairns for their training camp
Then on July 23 Seebhom posted to Twitter in a more direct way.
‘What I post on my social media channels doesn’t have to relate to anyone. I post things I like, how I feel and what I am doing. And to clarify what comes next is swimming fast in 2.5 weeks!’ she wrote.
Verhaeren would not comment on the mindset of Larkin inside the camp, only saying that the team ‘keep private matters private and external matters external’.
The high profile split came amid rumours Larkin, 25, had allegedly been engaged in an affair with an athlete who is not part of the Australian Swim Team, The Daily Telegraph reported.
Sources close to the former couple told the paper whispers of the alleged affair surfaced during the Pan-Pacific Championships Trials in Adelaide
Sources close to the former couple told the paper whispers of the alleged affair surfaced during the Pan-Pacific Championships Trials in Adelaide.
Seebohm won Olympic gold in relay events in 2008 and 2012 and also has five World Championships golds and seven in the Commonwealth Games.
Larkin won five gold medals at the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast earlier this year.
The 33-strong Dolphins team leaves Cairns on Saturday for another camp in Nagaoka, Japan, before the Pan Pacs.