Aussie Olympic swimmer admits injury lie

Australian swimmer Kenrick Monk tearfully admitted to inventing a story about how he suffered an injury which could harm his Olympic chances, revealing that he hurt himself skateboarding. Monk broke two bones in his elbow in what he initially claimed was a hit-and-run by a car which he said deliberately drove into his bike as he made his way to training in Brisbane on Wednesday. But the 23-year-old admitted Saturday that he had made up the story in a panic. "I was embarrassed. I didn't know what to do, I panicked, I freaked... basically to know that I've just fallen off a skateboard, something that a 10-year-old can ride," Monk said as he choked back tears. "I was embarrassed something stupid." Monk, whose coach Michael Bohl was by his side as he spoke to reporters, said he had agonised over his lie while recovering in hospital and eventually told his parents and police on Saturday morning. The Commonwealth Games relay gold medallist, who also competed at the Beijing Olympics and the recent world championships in Shanghai, denied that the emergence of a witness to the accident had prompted his confession. "I can't handle it no more," he said. "I feel sick." Of his story he said: "Basically it just kept snowballing and snowballing and more and more and more came out and it just got too much for me. "It was just a stupid thing I've done and I do apologise big time." Monk, who repeatedly apologised for his actions, had earlier told police that a young driver had deliberately hit him. "I remember the guys in the car yelling 'oi' and laughing. I turned and I got whacked on the side -- that was it," Monk said last week. He said police were deliberating on whether they would take the matter further and he did not know whether Swimming Australia would seek to penalise him. Doctors are also still deciding on whether to operate on his elbow. Swimming Australia chief executive Kevin Neil said the entire matter was regrettable and he would be making no further comment until the full details of the incident were known. Coach Bohl said it was up to Swimming Australia to determine whether the incident would affect Monk's chance of making the Olympic team. "I think he'll certainly be interviewed and they'll discuss what happened and why it happened and I'm sure they'll make some sort of decision either positively or negatively from there," he said. Bohl said Monk was under pressure with the Olympic trials in March. Monk, who specialises in the 200m freestyle, believes he will never be able to fully straighten his right arm as a result of the accident, which could keep him out of the water for up to two months.