Grant Hackett Admits That Mid-Air Nipple Cripple Nuked His Olympic Gigs

A few months back, any combination of the words “Grant Hackett” and “Rio Olympics” conjured up a bloody ascendant narrative – after all, the triple Olympic gold medallist was gearing up for one last crack at glory in the pool with some impressive showings against the Australian team’s young guns. 

It didn’t pan out. Then… well. 

Following a rough night on the lash – a pleasure Hackett had denied himself while training – the 36-year-old went ahead and befuddled the entire nation by getting himself caught in a bizarro nipple-crippling fiasco. On a flight from Adelaide to Melbourne, he allegedly tweaked the nip of the bloke in front of him. 

Here’s an artist’s impression:

You were weirded out, we were weirded out, everyone was weirded out, including some important figures in Hackett’s post-pool career. 

As it turns out, that incident didn’t only confirm the end of his competitive days, it also bundled the bloke out of his planned commentating and mentoring gigs. Speaking to The Herald Sun, the swimmer said he wouldn’t be part of the Australian team in any manner, nor would he be offering his insights for Channel 7. 
“I guess for me not being on the team as an athlete, then the way to contribute was being there part of the coverage, on pool deck.

“There are going to be people going through all sorts of emotions, with so much pressure, you need all the support you can get.

“That’s the disappointing aspect, not being able to support them.”
He said the whole ordeal was “devastating,” and “it was really heartbreaking, and it was heartbreaking for my family as well.”
“That’s what I find really difficult, when you see them going through that hurt with you.”
For what it’s worth, now his swimming (and airborne fondling) days are done, Hackett said he’s deadset on just trying to move on from a bogglingly tumultuous time in his life. A PhD in finance is in the works to add on his degrees in commerce and law, which seems like a rock-solid alternative to media roles – or causing weird AF chaos on domestic flights.

Source: Herald Sun.
Photo: Darrian Traynor / Getty. 

More Stuff From PEDESTRIAN.TV