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Australian cycling champion Jack Bobridge has been jailed for more than four years after being found guilty of dealing drugs following his retirement after the Rio De Janeiro Olympics.
Key points:
- Jack Bobridge was part of the silver-medal-winning team at the Rio Olympics
- He had a wild partying lifestyle while a professional cyclist in Europe
- His life descended into drugs after retirement and the breakup of his marriage
The two-time Olympic silver medallist was convicted on four charges of supplying ecstasy tablets to a former friend in Perth between March and August 2017, the year after he retired from professional cycling.
The District Court was told the friend, former professional cyclist Alex McGregor, then on-sold the drugs to a man who turned out to be an undercover police officer involved in an operation targeting drug dealing in nightclubs and bars.
The quantities of drugs supplied varied from 10 to 99 tablets.
Bobridge, 29, denied the four charges against him, testifying that it was McGregor who had supplied him with the drugs for his personal use.
A wild partying lifestyle
Bobridge readily admitted he had been a user of illicit substances, including cocaine and ecstasy, which he started taking while was living a partying lifestyle as a professional cyclist in Europe.
During his testimony he named two other Australian cyclists who he claimed had taken drugs with him, but their names were suppressed by Judge Stephen Scott.
Judge Scott told Bobridge his situation was an "absolute tragedy", but also said his dependence on drugs was no excuse for supplying them into the community.
He said ecstasy was the choice of drug for many young people, some of whom had died from using it.
Judge Scott said the community needed to understand that suppliers who were apprehended would be properly punished.
Bobridge maintains innocence
Bobridge's lawyer Sam Vandongen told the court his client maintained his innocence.
He said Bobridge had suffered from "a dramatic fall from grace" and his career was also severely affected by rheumatoid arthritis.
He retired in 2016 after the Rio De Janeiro Olympics, where he won a silver medal in the team pursuit.
He also won silver at the 2010 London Olympics, as well as four gold medals at the Commonwealth Games in 2010 and 2014.
Bobridge was sentenced to a total of four years and six months and will be eligible for parole after serving two years and six months behind bars.
Topics: courts-and-trials, drug-offences, olympics-summer, sport, cycling, perth-6000, wa
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