Behold the sad tale of Australian swimmer Kenrick Monk. Last week the 2008 Olympian announced to the media and police that he had been deliberately struck by a hit and run driver while riding his bicycle to practice, resulting in a potentially career ending broken elbow. Monk told police that he believed that the driver of the car was a ‘P-plate’ driver, the Aussie equivalent of a learners permit, and that the driver was attempting to drive as close as possible to the swimmer to show off for his buddies and struck him.
We now know that none of that was true. Kenrick had actually been riding his new skateboard when he fell off and injured himself. He broke two bones in his elbow and doctors say he may be unable to ever fully straighten his arm again. Monk’s story began to unravel when a friend who witnessed the skateboarding accident came forward to police.
In explaining himself to the media Monk told The Australian:
“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. ”It just kept snowballing and snowballing and more and more and more came out and it just got too much for me.”
In several interviews, the visibly distraught 23-year-old has tearfully apologized to his country and family, but could still face criminal charges for lying to the police. He could also face sanctions from Swimming Australia, the NGB of swimming. The swimmer sites pressure from his coach and swimming federation as one of the major reasons why he felt he had to hide the accident. Reportedly, he was under great pressure not to engage in high-risk behavior like skateboarding by his coach.
Below is the full video of the swimmer’s admission:
