PHOTO: Australian Swimmers Punished After Posing With Guns

Australian Olympic swimmers Nick D'Arcy and Kenrick Monk, who took pictures of themselves posing with guns in a California weaponry store and then posted them on Facebook, have been ordered to take them down by Australia's swimming authorities.

"These postings today are foolish and clearly inappropriate for members of the 2012 Australian Olympic Team," Nick Green, the chef de mission for the Australian Olympic team, said. Swimming Australia said they will be speaking with both athletes regarding the incident.

D'Arcy said the photographs were meant to be taken lightly, not seriously. "It was all just meant to be a bit of fun, the photos were just a bit of fun," D'Arcy told NineMSN.com after returning to Australia. "If anyone's been offended I deeply apologize. It was never the intent; it was never supposed to be offensive."

The picture, taken in Santa Clara, California, showed D'Arcy holding two pistols and standing next to Monk brandishing two shotguns. The swimmers were training in the U.S. ahead of the Olympic Games in London later this year.

This is not the first time D'Arcy has had a run-in with Olympic authorities. In 2008, he was dropped from the Beijing Olympic team following an assault charge for hitting teammate Simon Cowley and breaking his jaw, the Australian Daily Telegraph reported at the time.