Team Cook Islands’ hopes of adding swimmer Wesley Tikiariki Roberts as the third athlete to compete at the Paris Olympic Games has been dashed after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) declined their request.

Earlier this month, Cook Islands Sports and National Olympic Committee (CISNOC) and Cook Islands Aquatics Federation filed a request for arbitration to allow Roberts to compete under the universality quota.

Cook Islands had requested for an universality place for the swimmer and were denied by World Aquatics on July 19.

The Aquatics Federation and CISNOC requested that the CAS annul the contested decision and order Worlds Aquatics to award Roberts a universal slot to compete at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games to be held from July 26 to August 11.

In a media statement released yesterday, the CAS said its ad hoc division has dismissed the application.

Sole arbitrator Kristen Thorsness (USA), who held a hearing with the parties on July 23, determined that World Aquatics’ interpretation of its qualification system for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in relation to Roberts’ case to be “reasonable and appropriate”.

“Accordingly, Mr Roberts was not eligible to be entered as a participant in the Olympic Games and the application was dismissed.”

Universality quotas are designed to increase the diversity of nations participating in the Olympic Games sports programme, as some nations may have dozens or even hundreds of athletes with a guaranteed place at the Olympic Games at the end of the qualification process in each sport, while others may have only a handful. They are available as part of the qualification system in certain sports for nations that have traditionally had small delegations.

World Aquatics denied the 27-year-old Cook Islands swimmer a universality place in Paris on the basis of new rules that don’t allow universality swimmers who have competed at two Olympic Games already, reported website Swim Swam.

Limiting universality swimmers to two Olympics is a new rule change announced in 2022 along with a maximum age of 30 (as of December 31, 2024), both of which are meant to refocus the initiative on domestic development of young talents who might still break through with Olympic qualifying times.

Without Roberts, Cook Islands will be represented in the men’s 800 metre run by Alex Beddoes and in the women’s 100 breaststroke by Lanihei Connolly, both universality entries.

Roberts made his Olympic debut eight years ago in Rio, placing 44^th in the 1500 freestyle (15:44.32). In 2019, he won Cook Islands’ first-ever swimming medal at the Pacific Games in the 200 free (1:51.36). At the pandemic-postponed Tokyo Olympics in 2021, Roberts placed 37th in the 200 free (1:50.41) and 400 free (3:55.65).

Roberts said he came close to retiring in 2022 before he found a renewed love for the sport. He placed 34th in the 400 free (4:00.67), 37th in the 200 free (1:50.24), and 50th in the 100 free (50.43) at the 2022 World Championships. The following summer, Roberts placed 39th in the 200 free (1:51.27) and 49th in the 100 free (50.27) at the 2023 World Championships. This past February, he finished 30th in the 100 free (49.41) and 35th in the 200 free (1:49.78).

The Atiu-born, Australian-based swimmer also won two gold medals, setting two regional records in the process, a silver and a bronze medal at the Pacific Games in Solomon Islands last year.

He claimed the first gold medal for Team Cook Islands in the men’s 400-metre freestyle with a time of 3 minutes 58.41 seconds.  Roberts added a bronze medal to his tally in the men’s 200-metre individual medley, clocking in at 2:09.81 minutes. He then shattered the 100-metre freestyle record for men, which had stood since 2015. He clocked a blistering 50.05 seconds in the final, showcasing his exceptional speed and skill. On the same night he competed in the 50m men’s butterfly final where he managed a silver medal after finishing the race in 24.86 seconds.

In his final race, Roberts secured another gold medal – his second at the Pacific Games – in the 200-metre freestyle and set another record of 1.49.78 minutes, surpassing the 2007 record of 1.50.27 mins set by Pacific Games legend Ryan Pini.

Roberts currently owns national records in every freestyle event (23.94/49.41/1:48.55/3:52.50/8:17.39/15:40.36) as well as the 50 butterfly (24.67) and 200 IM (2:09.81).

-          Additional reporting by Braden Keith of Swim Swam