A Sudden Departure and Rising Tensions in Australian Swimming
Olympic gold medallist Zac Stubblety-Cook and his Australian representative girlfriend Ella Ramsay have left their Gold Coast training base under dramatic circumstances, following a significant falling out with respected swimming coach Mel Marshall. This development has created a delicate situation for Swimming Australia as the nation prepares for this year’s Commonwealth Games.
Stubblety-Cook, who won gold in the men’s 200m breaststroke at the Tokyo Olympics, and Marshall – a decorated British coach known for guiding Adam Peaty to multiple Olympic medals – have been involved in a long-standing dispute. The conflict revolves around differing philosophies on how the Griffith University Swim Club program should be managed.
The broader concern for Swimming Australia is the increasing number of elite swimmers leaving Marshall’s squad since her arrival in early 2025. Olympians Kaylee McKeown and Lani Pallister were among those who departed last year, and Stubblety-Cook and Ramsay are the latest to leave, raising concerns for the governing body.
Marshall was brought in from the UK to lead the Gold Coast program, with a specific focus on mentoring Stubblety-Cook, who moved from Brisbane to train under one of the sport’s most highly regarded coaches. However, tensions escalated after a meeting between Stubblety-Cook and Marshall following last week’s Australian Open in Queensland. By Wednesday evening, Stubblety-Cook and Ramsay had relocated to Victoria.
Sources, speaking on the condition of anonymity, confirmed that it was no secret in swimming circles that Stubblety-Cook and Marshall were not on good terms and could not resolve their differences.
Stubblety-Cook and Ramsay, who are aiming to compete at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, have now joined the Nunawading Swimming Club in Melbourne on an interim basis, with financial support from the Queensland Academy of Sport to help facilitate the abrupt move. Their future training location remains uncertain.
Swimming Australia has not provided specific details about why the pair left the program but issued a brief statement to this masthead. Marshall declined to comment after being approached through Swimming Australia.
“Griffith University Swim Club is currently implementing a realignment ahead of the green and gold runway into LA 2028 and Brisbane 2032,” the statement read. “This realignment has seen Zac Stubblety-Cook and Ella Ramsay depart Swimming Australia’s Griffith University’s high-performance hub and they are now training at Nunawading’s performance program.”
Dolphins coach Rohan Taylor added: “There are multiple high-performance environments throughout the country and we encourage our athletes to find the right environment that suits them. Additionally, we support our HPEs, like Griffith University and their globally recognised head coach Mel Marshall shaping that environment.”
In January last year, Marshall expressed optimism about working with Stubblety-Cook, who is a former world record holder. “I’m here to coach Australia and make sure that we create an environment that’s conducive to Australians doing really well,” Marshall said. “I’m excited to work with Zac as a partnership … in that journey as we travel through these next four years.”
However, questions about the Griffith set-up have persisted for some time. In April last year, McKeown, a five-time Olympic gold medallist, announced her departure, citing a desire to return to the Sunshine Coast after her regular coach, Michael Bohl, left Griffith University at the end of 2024.
“I couldn’t be more thankful to be back with people I know,” McKeown later said of returning with coach Michael Sage. “The environment here is a lot more me.”
Then last year, Pallister moved to Dean Boxall at St Peter’s Western, leaving Marshall without the two best female swimmers in her program when she joined. Pallister went on to claim a stunning 800m freestyle silver medal at last year’s world championships, nearly beating US great Katie Ledecky.
“Dean’s made me believe in myself more than I ever have before,” Pallister said of the move.
If Marshall is selected as a coach on the Australian team, it could create an awkward situation if Stubblety-Cook and Ramsay are also in the Dolphins squad.
Stubblety-Cook and Ramsay will compete at Australia’s swimming trials from June 8 to 13, which serve as selection for the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and Pan Pacific Championships in California later this year.
