Australian Coach Michael Palfrey Under Scrutiny For ‘UnAustralian’ Support of Kim Woo-Min
Prior to the beginning of the Olympic swimming competition, Australian coach Michael Palfrey provided consulting services to numerous South Korean swimmers, including 400 freestyle world champion Kim Woo-min. Now, Palfrey is in danger of being kicked off the Australian delegation to Paris and sent home after telling a reporter he would be rooting for Kim over a pair of Australian rivals who have won world titles in the event, Sam Short and Elijah Winnington.
Australian head coach Rohan Taylor addressed the situation at the organization’s pre-Olympics press conference Thursday after previously calling the comments “unAustralian” while speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald.
“Very disappointed, extremely disappointed,” Taylor said. “For a coach on our team to promote another athlete ahead of our athletes is not acceptable, and I’ve spoken to Michael about that. Also talking to the media without going through our media. That’s the feeling I have right now.”
In his comments to the Herald, Palfrey said, “I think it’s going to come down to that last 100 meters. We need Woo-Min to lift, that’s what I’ll be saying to him. He’s got to race tough.” He then added “Go Korea,” despite wearing an Australian team uniform.
According to Taylor, Palfrey admitted the contents of the Herald story were correct. “We confronted him with those details,” Taylor said. “He owns that. He was taken to task on it and is very remorseful, and we’re now dealing with it.” Still, Taylor and the Australian team considered the damage done, prompting the consideration for his removal. Before a final decision is made, Taylor planned to speak with the athletes who work regularly with Palfrey, Zac Incerti, Abbey Connor and Alex Perkins, as well as breaststroker Sam Williamson, who is under Palfrey’s tutelage for the Games.
“I’m meeting with them after their press conference. I want to sit down with them and go through how they feel, and also we’ve got a delicate balance of performance and requirements on the team,” Taylor said. “The priorities are the performances of the athletes, the well-being of the athletes under his care and of course the broader team and the coaching staff.”
Taylor added that he would get input from Short and Winnington before making a final decision and that he had already spoken to their respective coaches. He noted that Palfrey and Short’s coach, Damien Jones, are roommates in the Olympic village and that the two have been getting along well despite Jones’ disappointment in Palfrey’s comments.
“There has been a lot of talking going on, getting to the people that it has affecting is really important to me because I want to know the well-being is in place, the support is there. Ultimately, we’re here to perform at the Olympics in two days, so everybody’s focused on that, and I want to make sure that continues to be the focus.”
The issue of Australian coaches working with foreign athletes has brought significant contention Down Under in recent months, with Swimming Australia restricting coaches receiving organizational funding from consulting with foreign athletes after February’s World Championships in Doha. The organization made exceptions for existing relationships, which included Palfrey’s connection with Korean swimmers.
Read the original reporting from the Sydney Morning Herald here.
For the least, it is bad taste to say what he said, even if we understand that he is committed to who pays him! I remember they were the same problems when Chinese swimmers went prepared in Australia.