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Sydney - Australia's leading butterfly swimmer Nick D'Arcy risks missing next year's London Olympics by declaring himself bankrupt, reports said on Wednesday.
D'Arcy has reportedly filed for bankruptcy which would allow him to avoid paying a A$180 000 damages bill for assaulting fellow swimmer Simon Cowley.
Reports said that in doing so D'Arcy may have ruled himself out of selection for next year's London Games.
According to federal government agency Insolvency Trustee Services Australia, during a period of bankruptcy a person has to obtain written permission from the trustee to travel overseas and could have to surrender their passport, Australian Associated Press said.
The court-appointed trustee will decide whether D'Arcy can travel overseas, reports said.
D'Arcy, 24, was kicked out of the Australian team for the Beijing Olympics in 2008 after he assaulted Cowley in a Sydney bar on the night he was selected for the Games.
A court subsequently awarded the damages to Cowley, who needed corrective surgery to his face to repair fractures including the insertion of titanium plates, and who quit his job with a financial firm after the incident.
D'Arcy is currently the best 200m butterfly swimmer in Australia and is likely to be in the team for London, depending on results at the Olympic team trials in Adelaide next March.
The Australian Olympic Committee has no rules preventing a bankrupt from being selected.
The AOC's team executive, consisting of chef de mission Nick Green, secretary-general Craig Phillips and former swimmer Chris Fydler, were due to discuss D'Arcy's latest development.
