James Magnussen talks about his performance at the London Olympics during the SAS Australia finale

James Magnussen spoke about his devastating performance at the 2012 London Olympics during Tuesday’s SAS Australia finale.

The 29-year-old former Olympic swimmer lost his race by 100th of a second, before later being embroiled in a prescription drug scandal.

‘Throughout my life, showing emotion is not something that I’ve ever been very comfortable with,’ he confessed. 

‘Because for many years of my life, I was embarrassed and ashamed of that performance at the London Olympics.

‘When I retired from swimming, that ambition that has always driven me got away from me a little bit. I had a sense of loss.’

James spoke more about the fateful London Olympics after being pulled into interrogation during Monday’s episode.

‘I thought my whole life up until now has been a failure. I think the whole experience around London and the fallout has hardened me in a lot of ways and I haven’t cried since,’ he confessed.  

Following the 2012 Olympics, it emerged that James had enjoyed a night out with his teammates, Eamon Sullivan, Matt Targett, James Roberts, Tommaso D’Orsogna and Cameron McEvoy.   

The group took the sleeping drug Stilnox, during what James had previously described as a bonding session with his fellow swimmers.

The drug was a banned substance, and James admitted that the scandal is still ‘something I haven’t dealt with completely’.

‘It got pretty dark there for a while where I was copping criticism, not only in the media, but when I was out in public as well,’ he explained. 

‘As a 20-year-old kid, I didn’t really know how to cope with that, so I made a decision back then that I’m never going to let emotions get the better of me again, and so I don’t really let anyone in emotionally.’