despite his arm injury, before flying to the Australian training camp in Hawaii, where he was made team captain. However, his international career appeared to be in disarray when along with teammates Kerry and Joe Dixon, he was expelled from the team for breaking a curfew on the American Independence Day holiday. Tonelli also admitted to the officials that he had smoked marijuana and been drinking on the night. In the aftermath of the incident, Tonelli appeared on Australian television, strongly denying rumours that he had been involved in a drug-fuelled orgy with teammates. He admitted to smoking marijuana, but defended his actions as being legal under Hawaii law. Supporters in Australia—including future Prime Minister Bob Hawke—launched a petition for the reinstatement of the trio. They gathered thousands of signatures to no avail. Tonelli returned to the United States, while his compatriots competed for Australia. In the meantime, Tonelli again won the 100 m backstroke title at the US Nationals in a time two seconds faster than Patching's Commonwealth gold-winning effort. He said that his career was "never the same again" after his expulsion by a "kangaroo court", feeling that the punishment had weakened his will. Tonelli predicted that he could have won eight Commonwealth Games gold medals and possibly set a world record in the 200 m backstroke if he had not been expelled. 1980 Summer Olympics In 1979 Tonelli failed to defend his US title in the 100 m backstroke, but managed third in the event at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Championships in his final year of university. In his four years at Alabama, he was an eight-time All-American in the 100 m and 200 m backstroke. His triumph at the NCAA Championships came amid the backdrop of a teammate's death in a waterskiing accident during a social event with a group of fellow swimmers. Tonelli was driving the powerboat when he did a U-turn that resulted in his teammate being thrown off his skis and into the water. The boat's propeller then struck the man, who died due to severe cuts and blood loss. Tonelli graduated, returned to Australia, and won the 100 m freestyle, butterfly and backstroke events at the 1979 Australian Championships. The following year, he repeated the freestyle and butterfly victories in times of 51.80 s and 56.64 s to gain selection for the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow; he was also