Isaac Cooper Has Stepped Down From the Dolphins' Athlete Leadership Group After Skipping the Final Night of Competition'

The 22-year-old backstroke specialist was absent from the last evening of swimming at Tollcross International Swimming Centre, where non-competing swimmers were expected to support teammates and attend a wrap-up meeting. Three anonymous sources said Cooper was drinking in Glasgow while his teammates competed, and he was also seen drinking at Australia's team headquarters. He missed a training session the next day.

Team officials, including head coach Rohan Taylor, spoke to Cooper about the incident. Swimming Australia confirmed Cooper voluntarily stood down from the leadership group but will not send him home, allowing him to compete at the Pan Pacific Championships in Irvine, California, starting August 12, though he will be closely monitored. This comes four years after Cooper was sent home from a training camp in France for misusing prescription medication, an incident he discussed last month, saying he shared sleeping medication with teammates.

Cooper won gold in Glasgow as a heat swimmer in the men's 4x100m medley relay and placed sixth in the 50m backstroke. "misuse of prescription medication"