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Grant Hackett: Australian Olympic Swimmer Seeks Rehab Treatment

An urgent family intervention Tuesday on the Gold Coast prompted Australian Olympic swimmer Grant Hackett to seek help for a drug addiction. Now, Hackett is on his way to the United States to admit ...
Grant Hackett: Australian Olympic Swimmer Seeks Rehab Treatment
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  • An urgent family intervention Tuesday on the Gold Coast prompted Australian Olympic swimmer Grant Hackett to seek help for a drug addiction.

    Now, Hackett is on his way to the United States to admit himself into a rehab facility.

    The 33-year-old gold-winning Olympian is reportedly addicted to the sleeping drug Stilnox, surprisingly the same drug fellow swimmer Michael Phelps once admitted to using.

    In 2012, the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) banned the medication during the Summer Games in London. Their decision was in response to Hackett’s admittance to using “such medications while he was competing at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.” AOC said that it wanted to avoid any manipulative performances offered by its athletes.

    Hackett was reportedly on Stilnox in 2011 and 2012 for a shoulder injury-something he said at one point scared him because he considered the drug to be “evil.”

    Mail Online reported:

    Stilnox, a Zolpiem drug, is also used for anxiety but can be highly addictive if overused.

    Side effects from the drug have been linked to strange behavior, hallucinations, impaired judgement and delusions.

    A recent episode that occurred in Melbourne’s Crown Casino hotel established just how impairing this drug has made the father of two.

    On Saturday morning, Hackett noticed that his son was missing from his hotel room. He frantically grabbed his daughter Charlize and ran down to the lobby in search for her twin brother Jagger.

    Witnesses say that Hackett seemed a little off, as he was seen wearing nothing else but underwear covered by a shirt. The whole ordeal was captured on security footage, showing a worried Hackett asking the front desk for help.

    The toddler was eventually found safely on another floor.

    Hackett has previously revealed streaks of violence while married to ex-wife and ‘baby mama’ Candice Alley.

    Here is a 2012 report done by Australia’s Today Tonight interviewing Hackett about vandalizing his family home:

    Even though those close to him have denied such claims, it seems that Hackett has dealt with personal demons for a while.

    The swimmer’s loved ones are just happy that he will soon receive well-needed help.

    A spokesperson of the family said in a statement to Mail Online: “His family and friends are enormously proud of his courage in pursuing this course of action.”

    Image via YouTube

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