Swimming Australia has sacked coach Michael Palfrey over comments made at the Paris Olympics where he said he hoped a Korean athlete would beat Australia’s stars in the pool.
Palfrey told Korean television he hoped South Korea’s Kim Woo-min would win the men’s 400m freestyle in Paris, an event that featured Australian duo Sam Short and Elijah Winnington.
“Swimming Australia has terminated Michael Palfrey’s employment due to a breach of his employment agreement,” the governing body said in a statement on Friday.
“Palfrey was found to have breached his employment contract by bringing himself into disrepute and causing serious damage to his and Swimming Australia’s reputation, and adversely affecting Swimming Australia’s interests.
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“CEO Rob Woodhouse confirmed Palfrey’s employment has ended effective immediately and the process to find a successor for Palfrey at USC Spartans has begun.
“Palfrey retains his coach accreditation status. Swimming Australia will be making no further comment.”
Palfrey, who previously worked with Kim as an adviser, was told along with Australia’s other swimming coaches to end any association with non-Australian swimmers in March, four months prior to the Olympic Games.
Germany’s Lukas Märtens took out the gold medal in the men’s 400m freestyle, with Winnington claiming silver ahead of Kim, who won bronze.
Despite the controversy surrounding his comments, Palfrey was allowed to remain with the Australian team during its Olympic campaign.
Elijah Winnington did not take any offence to Palfrey’s comments after receiving an apology from the coach. (Getty Images: Mike Lawrie)
Winnington was not bothered by the comments made by Palfrey regarding his Korean rival.
“I couldn’t care less,” he told Channel Nine during the Olympics.
“Mick’s come and apologised. I don’t think he meant what he said. He’s a great guy and great coach.
“Obviously (Kim) Woo-min trains with him but he’s come up to me and knows he didn’t mean what he said. At the end of the day, it’s just a comment, and I’m here to race the best I can. There’s no animosity among the team. It’s all good.”
Palfrey’s comments were strongly condemned by Swimming Australia head coach Rohan Taylor, who called them “un-Australian”.
Australia’s Olympic chef de mission Anna Meares called Palfrey’s comments “a conflict and a serious error of judgement”.
Palfrey worked with Australian swimmers Zac Incerti, Abbey Connor and Alex Perkins during the Paris Olympics.
