Geoff Huegill and his wife were busted with cocaine in a toilet cubicle at the races. Now swimmer reveals the 'really good' part about coke shame

His shock cocaine bust with then-wife Sara Hills saw Geoff Huegill hit rock bottom in 2014 - but the champion swimmer has revealed there was one 'really good' aspect of the scandal as he opened up about being diagnosed with ADHD.

The 45-year-old and his ex-wife were infamously busted with a small quantity of the drug in a disabled toilet at Sydney's Randwick Racecourse, kicking off a firestorm of media coverage.

Both pleaded guilty to drug possession and were handed six-month good behaviour bonds.

While they avoided convictions, the scandal was the beginning of the end for the couple, who share two daughters, Gigi and Mila. They announced their split in 2018.

Earlier this week Huegill admitted the incident saw him hit rock bottom before he decided to get sober, which put him on the path to being diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

But on Friday he revealed the drugs bombshell did have a silver lining.

Sunrise host Natalie Barr asked him about the effect of the scandal, reminding him that it 'made headlines right around Australia'.

'Yeah, and around the world, actually, which was in some ways really good, about the fact of understanding my reach,' a smiling Huegill replied, before opening up about how his condition has affected him.

'One of the things I've learnt throughout this journey, especially with this diagnosis, is the science and the symptoms of having it [ADHD].

'The ADHD brain works in many different ways. One of the big things is impulsivity, spontaneity is probably a big thing as well.'

The Olympic medallist and Commonwealth Games champion said forgiving himself has been a major part of his life, then said having the condition was actually a big plus when he was competing.

'ADHD is a bit of a superpower, it was great for me as I was a professional athlete,' he said.

'It really helped me focus on the things I needed to focus on and cut out the white noise of things that were irrelevant to what was happening in sport.

'Obviously that transition into the next phase of life, when not having something to focus in or have that same passion for ... that's where I really noticed the challenges.'

During his earlier appearance on SBS's Insight program, Huegill revealed the impact of the cocaine bust.  

'I lost sponsors. I lost job opportunities. I was building businesses - I had to close all of those businesses,' he said.

'Even though I wasn't given a criminal conviction, it was still death by media.'

Of his relationship with Sara, Huegill added: 'Unfortunately, I lost that marriage. There were many other factors as to why that marriage didn't work.

'It's not until your life is put in the spotlight that people deal with pressure in certain ways - and that's the hard part.'