It followed an allegation made last month accusing Thompson of "inappropriate behaviour" and which has since been the subject of an inquiry by a leading Canberra barrister.

Thompson has denied any claims of wrongdoing but Swimming Australia claimed he had accepted a redundancy offer following a disagreement over a a restructuring of the team management.

Thompson, who had been on leave since the allegations were made, had been acting in the dual roles of head coach since 2005 and then general manager for high performance since 2006. 

Kevin Neil, the chief executive of Swimming Australia, said: "A full review of the High Performance unit was conducted by the [Swimming Australia] Board at which point a recommendation was made to split the roles of general manager for High Performance and that of the head coach, and Alan is not prepared to work under this new structure.

"Swimming is a sport that prides itself on professionalism, hard work and success, and to continue to maintain and develop those values at all levels, we believe this new structure is the best way forward."

The inquiry, led by Louise Donohoe, SC, will continue, said Swimming Australia, claiming that they expect Thompson to be exonerated of the allegations.

Under Thompson, Australia's team won 20 medals at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, including six gold, two of which were won by Stephanie Rice (pictured) in the 200 and 400 metres individual medley, setting world records in both events, to finish second overall in the medals table behind the United States.

Thompson,  who three years ago held discussions with British Swimming's chief executive David Sparkes about replacing Bill Sweetenham, has been replaced as head coach temporarily by Leigh Nugent.

He returns to a role he stepped down from after leading Australia to its most successful performance at the Olympics outside their own country when they won seven gold medals at the 2004 Games in Athens.

Following the Olympics, he returned to his previous job as the head youth coach.

David Crocker, who has been on secondment from the Australian Sports Commission since December, is currently acting in the role of general manager for High Performance.

Swimming Australia will advertise for both positions, they said.


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