Top coach Gennadi Touretski today walked free of a drugs accusation that had sent shockwaves throughout Australian swimming when the prosecution dropped charges.
Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Ken Archer told a court there was no longer a reasonable prospect of conviction.
This follows a decision earlier this week when Magistrate John Burns ruled that Inna Touretski could not be compelled to give prosecution evidence against her husband.
Mrs. Touretski, a former Olympic swimmer for the USSR, was coached by Touretski before they married in 1991.
She had said giving evidence might wreck their marriage.
Under Australian law, a spouse can be excused from giving evidence if harm to the relationship is found to outweigh the importance of the testimony.
The Russian-born Touretski had pleaded not guilty to possessing the banned performance-enhancing steroid Stanozolol.
The 51-year-old guided Russian Alex Popov to four Olympic gold medals and Australian Michael Klim to four world championship gold medals and three Olympic golds.
He had been charged under the Poisons and Drugs Act which carries a maximum penalty of six months in prison but Touretski, who had been suspended on full pay from his job as senior coach at the Australian Institute of Sport, would have been banned from swimming for life if found guilty.
Australian Sports Commission chief Mark Peters immediately said Touretski had been reinstated.
He said the decision to suspend Touretski had never been meant to reflect a judgement.
AFP