Swimming: Sweetenham back to work after being cleared of bullying

Bill Sweetenham has returned to work as British swimming's national performance director and remains committed to his job until the 2008 Olympics following a meeting yesterday to discuss the recent investigation into allegations of bullying.

Sweetenham was cleared by an independent investigator, Bill Roberts, a former policeman, who found no evidence to substantiate claims that Sweetenham had bullied swimmers.

Sweetenham, who has just returned to Britain after a trip to see his family in his native Australia, met yesterday with British Swimming's chief executive, David Sparkes, to review the report's findings and discuss a number of issues it raised.

"We've had a very positive meeting," Sparkes said last night. "And Bill has confirmed that he is totally committed to leading the British team to Beijing in 2008.

"We agreed that some of the issues highlighted in the report could have been handled better. But Bill has affected a massive change in our sport and it's inevitable that not everything will run smoothly.

"British Swimming, team staff, and the vast majority of Britain's swimmers remain committed to Bill and are looking forward to more success as they continue on the road to Beijing."

Reports that Sweetenham will no longer work one to one with any swimmers are wide of the mark, according to one source. Sweetenham may work less with a few senior swimmers known to clash with his regime, and he has been asked to avoid terminology such as "you Sheilas".