By Nick Butler

Kitty Chiller the chef de mission of the Australian team at Rio 2016 has announced the alcohol banOctober 24 - Australian athletes will be banned from drinking alcohol in the Olympic Village at Rio 2016 following the controversies the team experienced at London 2012, Chef de Mission Kitty Chiller announced today. 


The Village will remain a "dry area" for the duration of the Games while there will also be no alcohol consumed on the flight back to Sydney from Rio after the Closing Ceremony.

Athletes who have finished competition will be allowed to drink outside the Village but irresponsible drinking levels will not be tolerated, Chiller has warned.

This follows the problems which occurred at London 2012 with athletes holding parties and disrupting fellow team members who were waiting to compete in the Games.

"Members of the Australian Olympic team, including athletes and officials, will not be permitted to drink alcohol in the Olympic Village," said Chiller.

"Athletes are free to go for a drink outside the Village once they have finished competing, but we insist that they drink responsibly.

"We don't want them rolling around the Village drunk and disrupting other athletes who are about to compete.

"Some athletes who were competing in the second week of the London Games were awake at night because of the noise caused by athletes who had finished competition and wanted to party.

"We will be expecting an extremely high standard of behaviour in Rio - bad behaviour will not be tolerated."

Australian athletes will have to be careful to resist the temptations of Rio in the aftermath of the alcohol banAustralian athletes will have to be careful to resist the temptations of Rio in the aftermath of the alcohol ban


The announcement follows the widespread criticism voiced towards Australian athletes in the aftermath of London 2012.

After slumping to their lowest Olympic medal haul for 20 years, they were accused of wasting taxpayer's money and being more focused on leisure than success.

Members of the swimming team - considered one of the country's strongest sports - were particularly targeted after winning just one solitary gold medal.

Many were criticised for drunkenness in an independent review and the men's 4x100 metres freestyle relay team was embroiled in a scandal after they took Stilnox, a sleeping pill banned by the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC), as part of a team bonding exercise.

Another team member, rower Josh Booth, was detained by police for damaging shop windows after being out drinking following the final of the men's eight.

Rower Josh Booth was one athlete who disgraced himself due to alcohol abuse after finishing his event at London 2012Rower Josh Booth was one athlete who disgraced himself due to alcohol abuse after finishing his event in sixth place at London 2012


The announcement of the alcohol ban comes a day after the launch of Australia's "Campaign Rio" which targets a return to the top five on the Olympic medals table following the tenth placed finish in London.

"Campaign Rio" is a collaboration with both the Olympic and Paralympic Committee's as well as the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS).

Chiller's words underlines the determination to achieve this objective.

"It's about creating the best environment to achieve performance success," she said.

"If we're about high performance, then athletes are not going to be walking into the Village at 7am drunk or making noise or disrupting other athletes.

"I want athletes to be part of those discussions on how they can support the rest of the team.

"But if athletes cannot, will not or do not contribute to that team approach, there will be no room for them in the Olympic Village".