Rio Olympics 2016: Australian athletes handed Olympic closing ceremony curfew after two swimmers broke protocol following boozy night out

• Richard Forrester

• Published: 13:44, 19 Aug 2016

THE Australian Olympic Committee have put a curfew on all of their athletes after two swimmers failed to return to the Olympic Village with teammates following a boozy night out.

Olympians Josh Palmer and Emma McKeon have also been banned from the Games' closing ceremony.

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The swimming team enjoyed a night out in a nightclub near Copacabana Beach on Tuesday but Palmer and Mckeon failed to return with their teammates.

According to USA today, It is believed Palmer stayed to drink with mates before being forced to withdraw around £760 from a cashpoint by a stranger.

McKeon, who won four medals in Rio, failed to inform her team manager of her whereabouts when they left the club.

As a consequence, AOC chief Kitty Chiller announced that all athletes will be put on a 2 a.m curfew after the closing ceremony on Sunday.

In a statement, she said: "Palmer and McKeon's behaviour was unacceptable and they breached disciplinary protocols.

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To clarify, I've followed AOC safety protocol in not travelling to village alone. My error was not texting my team manager. #noclosingforme

— Emma McKeon (@emma_mckeon) August 18, 2016

"I have raised the need for the swimming team leader to ensure he is aware of his athlete's whereabouts when leaving the Olympic Village."

The punishment for Palmer and McKeon is more severe with the duo ordered to remain inside the Olympic Village between 8pm and 8am.

They are only allowed to travel between sporting events using official Rio Games transportation.

McKeon later took to Twitter to apologise by saying: "To clarify, I've followed AOC safety protocol in not travelling to village alone. My error was not texting my team manager."

It comes after a string of crime involving athletes around Rio.

Australian Paralympic champion Liesl Tesch had her bike stolen at gunpoint whilst Portugal's education minister Tiago Brandao Rodrigues was assaulted by a local with a knife.

In less threatening circumstances, Great Britain's swimming team had their kit nicked just a day before the stars took to the water.