The Australian swimming coach whose behaviour on the eve of the Olympic Games was described as “un-Australian” will remain with the team in Paris, chef de mission Anna Meares has confirmed.
Michael Palfrey came under fire for his public support for a South Korean athlete ahead of two of his own team but head coach Rohan Taylor, who had initially expressed concern over the comments, recommended Palfrey continues to be a part of the Dolphins team.
Palfrey is part of the Dolphins set up but has also coached South Korean men’s 400m freestyle world champion Kim Woo-min.
In an interview with Korean television on Tuesday, Palfrey said he hoped Kim would win gold on Saturday. “I really hope he can win, but ultimately I really hope he swims well,” Palfrey said, later declaring: “Go Korea.”
Taylor – Australia’s head coach responsible for all coaches on the team – said the comments were disappointing.
“A coach on our team promoting another athlete ahead of our athletes is not acceptable,” Taylor said in Paris ahead of tomorrow’s ceremony. “Promoting an athlete who’s not Australian is just un-Australian, to be honest.”
Meares said late on Thursday she supported Taylor and the decision taken was in the interests of the team. “It is a decision based on high performance and wellbeing,” Meares said.
The Dolphins senior management team spoke with athletes, including those coached by Palfrey, the athlete leadership group and coaches before reaching their decision.
“It was not one we have taken lightly and I stress this is an ongoing discussion for when we return home,” Taylor said.
Kim will face Australian duo Sam Short, who won the 2023 world title in the event, and 2022 world champion Elijah Winnington. Short and Winnington, who were among those consulted, are both considered gold medal contenders in the event.
“There will be three or four of them in the race that think they can win it,” Palfrey told South Korean media. “I think it’s going to come down to that last 100 metres. We need Woo-min to lift, that’s what I’ll be saying to him. He’s got to race tough.
“I think Woo-Min can definitely be amongst the medals but the hard thing for him is that those [Australian] guys have already posted fast times. He’s got to find another level. Hopefully at this meet, he can go faster.”
Palfrey is one of eight Australian swim coaches in Paris; the University of the Sunshine Coast head coach is overseeing Zac Incerti, Abbey Connor and Alex Perkins. But he has previously hosted several Korean swimmers in Queensland, including Kim, Hwang Sun-woo, Lee Ho-joon, Lee Yoo-yeon and Yang Jae-hoon.
It has been reported that Swimming Australia approved Palfrey’s prior involvement with Korean swimmers, but indicated that staff with links to international swimmers needed to end those relationships before the Olympic trials last month to avoid any conflicts of interest. There is no suggestion that Palfrey did not comply with that directive.
Taylor said the issue of Australian coaches working with foreign swimmers had been under consideration since the Doha World Championships in February, and would be addressed after the Paris Games.
“We are leading a leading nation and we do have a lot of really strong IP in coaching and resources and we are investing in that and we want to protect it.”
The men’s 400m freestyle will be the opening medal event of the Paris swim meet, on Saturday evening.
