Australian swimming great Grant Hackett might have been drinking prior to an alleged mid-air “nipple tweak” on a fellow passenger, a witness said yesterday.
The 35-year-old dual Olympic champion, who recently failed in his bid to make the Australian team for the Rio de Janeiro Games, was reportedly questioned by police after the flight landed in Melbourne.
Australian Federal Police confirmed only that they spoke to a 35-year-old man at Melbourne airport and that no charges were laid.
Photo: AFP
“Inquiries in relation to this matter are continuing,” police said.
Neither Hackett nor his management have commented on events in the business-class section of the Virgin Australia flight from Adelaide on Sunday, but reports said it was sparked by the passenger in front of Hackett reclining his seat.
The male passenger, who was not named, told Melbourne’s Herald-Sun newspaper that as he reclined his chair, Hackett “grabbed it and yanked it back.”
“Then he put his hand through and groped my chest, and tweaked my nipple quite forcefully,” he said.
Gary Pert, the chief executive of the Collingwood Football Club, said he was seated across the aisle from Hackett and saw the incident unfold.
“He [Hackett] was not aggressive or upset,” Pert told Melbourne radio station 3AW. “One of the passengers in front of him put his chair back and Grant just leaned forward, put his hand between the seat and appeared to just tap the person.”
“I think he would be the first one to say he was affected by alcohol and literally was asleep or passed out on the flight for the majority of the time,” Pert added.
Hackett, one of the greats of Australian swimming, retired after the 2008 Beijing Olympics after winning the 1,500m freestyle at both the 2000 Sydney and 2004 Athens Olympics.
He underwent rehabilitation in 2014 after seeking help for an addiction to sleeping pills.
Hackett came out of retirement with hopes of becoming the oldest Australian swimmer to qualify for an Olympics, but missed out when he failed to qualify for the 200m freestyle final at the Australian Swimming Championships earlier this month.
Brazil has four teams, more than any other country, in the expanded Club World Cup that kicked off yesterday in the US, but for SE Palmeiras, the competition holds a special meaning: winning it would provide some redemption. Under coach Abel Ferreira since 2020, Palmeiras lifted two Copa Libertadores titles, plus Brazilian league, cup and state championships. Even before Ferreira, it boasted another South American crown and 11 league titles. The only major trophy missing is a world champions’ title. Other Brazilian clubs like Fluminense FC and Botafogo FR, also in the tournament, have never won it either, but the problem for Palmeiras
Paris Saint-Germain’s Lee Kang-in has pleaded with South Korea fans to get behind the team at the 2026 FIFA World Cup after more boos were aimed at coach Hong Myung-bo despite leading them to qualification. South Korea reached next year’s finals in North America without losing a game, but that does not tell the whole story. The country’s soccer association has been in the firing line, having scrambled about to find a successor after sacking the unpopular Jurgen Klinsmann in February last year. They eventually settled on Hong, the decorated former skipper who had an unsuccessful stint as coach in 2013-2014, during which
Lionel Messi drew vast crowds and showed flashes of his brilliance when his Inter Miami side were held to a goalless draw by African giants Al-Ahly as the revamped FIFA Club World Cup got off to a festive start on Saturday. Fans showed up en masse for the Group A clash at the Hard Rock Stadium, home to the NFL’s Miami Dolphins, but Messi could not fully deliver, his best chance coming through a last-second attempt that was deflected onto the crossbar. Inter Miami next face FC Porto on Thursday in Atlanta, while Al-Ahly, who benefited from raucous, massive support, are to
Ferrari’s F1 fortunes might be flagging, but the Italian team start this weekend’s 24 Hours of Le Mans as favorites, targeting a third consecutive triumph in motorsport’s fabled endurance classic. Roger Federer is acting as celebrity starter with the tennis icon getting the 93rd edition of the jewel in four-wheeled endurance racing’s crown under way tomorrow. Twenty-four hours later, through daylight, darkness and dawn, the 21 elite hypercars are to battle it out over 300 laps (more than 4,000km) in front of a sold-out 320,000 crowd burning the midnight oil with copious quantities of coffee and beer. Ferrari made a triumphant return after
RSS