Coach calls for extra help for swimmers
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But Cusack said when all else failed, athletes should be able to have a confidential discussion with a doctor and he wrestled with the fact governing bodies had so much control.
“In hindsight, sometimes you just need something to put you off to sleep,” he said.
“There are other sleeping tablets available, it’s a matter of finding something you can use that doesn’t affect your performance.
“Athletes need (to be able to) look at all possible interventions if they’re going to find themselves in that position in the future.”
Australian head coach Jacco Verhaeren said he understood why Campbell may have felt she should not request medication.
“Cate is a genuine leader in everything she does and if there is a policy, she definitely wants to adhere to it,” Verhaeren said.
Stilnox is among the suite of medications available to athletes outside of the Olympics.
“We can’t ban non-banned substances,” Verhaeren said.
“If you say, ‘what do we prefer?’, that’s another question. There’s several brands of sleep medication and there’s also the milder options like melatonin to get people to sleep as well.
“Sleep medication, in whatever brand, is always the last resource and is a discussion between an athlete and a doctor.”
Cusack said there had been some discussion after the Games about the issue but there needed to be a clearer policy moving forward.
“Certainly the whole Stilnox debacle has been a very distracting thing in Olympic sport,” he said.
“It’s something that we’ve got to put a plan around but not a plan that plays out in the media or between governing bodies.
“It should be purely between a doctor and patient.”
Verhaeren agreed there needed to be a discussion but said it was not one that should be led by athletes or coaches.
“That is not a discussion that coaches, athletes and the swimming federation should run,” he said.
“We could be part of it but ultimately, this is what we have trained doctors for.