The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Scots swimmer handed ban for drink-driving
COURT: Olympic medallist Dan Wallace also fined £600 over incident in Stirling
Scots Olympic swimmer Dan Wallace was banned from driving for 12 months and fined £600 yesterday, after taking a chance to drive home after a lengthy drinking session with pals.
The silver medallist was still nearly two-and-a-half times the legal limit when stopped near his rented flat in Bridge of Allan, Stirlingshire, at 3.15am, despite having stopped drinking hours before.
Wallace, 24, was behind the wheel of his leased Mercedes A180D when he was caught just a mile or so from Stirling University, where he trains.
Stirling Sheriff Court heard that the incident happened in Queen’s Lane, Bridge of Allan, on June 1.
Prosecutor Laura Knox said: “Police officers stopped the vehicle in question in connection with a document check, and spoke to the accused, who was driving.
“They could smell alcohol and he was required to provide a specimen of breath.”
After failing a roadside breath test, Wallace was arrested and taken to Livingston police station, where he gave a sample of breath that proved on analysis to contain 54 microgrammes of alcohol in every 100 millilitres – the legal limit in Scotland is 22.
Appearing in the dock, Wallace, originally from Edinburgh, a first offender, pleaded guilty to drink-driving.
Ewen Roy, defending, said the swimmer had been drinking with friends at a private address in Stirling, on what was the one day a week he has off from rigorous training.
He said: “He advises me he wasn’t drinking constantly throughout the day and also that he’d had plenty of food.
“He then took what he thought was a reasonable length break from drinking before driving the two miles home.
“He thought he was fit to drive. Clearly that was a significant error.
“He tells me the roads were very quiet. I understand there was nothing problematic at all with the manner of his driving.”
He said Wallace had been suspended from his sport for three months.
Mr Roy added: “As a consequence of his action, he has suffered financial loss of several thousand pounds, and clearly there’s been reputational damage as well.”
Wallace won a silver medal as a member of the 4x200metres freestyle relay team at the Olympics in Rio last summer. He won gold in the same event at the 2015 World Championships.
British Swimming and Scottish Swimming said Wallace had signed a letter of intent “outlining his commitment to work with the necessary support systems provided”.