( CNN ) -- Two Australian Olympic swimmers who posted pictures on Facebook of themselves brandishing weapons have been ordered to take them down by the country 's swimming authorities . The image , taken in a gun shop in Santa Clara , California , showed Nick D'Arcy with two pistols standing next to Kenrick Monk who is holding two shotguns across his chest , according to a Friday report in Australia 's Herald Sun . The swimmers were training in the U.S. ahead of the Olympic Games in London later this year . Swimming Australia said in a statement that it does not condone `` the posting of inappropriate content on Facebook , Twitter or any social media platform . '' As of Friday morning , neither of the swimmers ' Facebook pages or Twitter accounts contained the photo . `` It was all just meant to be a bit of fun , the photos were just a bit of fun , '' D'Arcy told local media after returning to Australia . `` If anyone 's been offended I deeply apologize . It was never the intent ; it was never supposed to be offensive . '' Dozens of fans have posted on Monk 's public Facebook page saying they support the athletes and that Swimming Australia had blown the photo out of proportion . Swimming Australia said they will be speaking with both athletes regarding the incident . While the pair faces possible Olympic sanctions , D'Arcy has been embroiled in controversy in the past . 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 . Both swimmers were named in Australia 's team in March .
Two Australian Olympic swimmers ordered to take down controversial gun photo from Facebook . Photo shows Nick D'Arcy and Kenrick Monk each holding two guns in a U.S. gun shop . The photos were taken by the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper on July 10, just days after the pair won gold medals at the Rio Olympics.