Swimming Australia Sacks Paris Olympic Team Coach Michael Palfrey for being “Un Australian”
Australian swim coach Michael Palfrey, the man at the centre of comments made supporting a South Korean athlete during the Paris Olympics, has been sacked.
Swimming Australia today confirmed Palfrey’s immediate departure from his role as Head Coach of the USC Spartans performance program on the Queensland Sunshine Coach.
Michael Palfrey. Photo Courtesy: Delly Carr (Swimming Australia)
The governing body told Nine Newspapers: “Swimming Australia has terminated Michael Palfrey’s employment due to a breach of his employment agreement. 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.
“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.”
Nine Newspapers had revealed on the eve of the Games that Palfrey had been asked for an explanation from team officials for remarks he made at an impromptu media conference with South Korean reporters at the Olympic warmup pool in the days before competition.
Palfrey said he hoped world champion swimmer Kim Woo-min, who he was advising at the time, would defeat Australian medal hopefuls Elijah Winnington and Sam Short in the men’s 400m freestyle on night one in Paris.
“I really hope he can win, but ultimately, I really hope he swims well,” Palfrey said in an interview observed and recorded by Nine Newspapers.
“We need Woo-min to lift, that’s what I’ll be saying to him. He’s got to race tough.”
At the end of the five-minute exchange, Palfrey, wearing an official Australian shirt as a member of the coaching staff, said: “Go Korea.”
At the time, an angry Australian Head coach Rohan Taylor and the Australian Olympic Committee admonished Palfrey for his comments but allowed him to remain in Paris with the team as he prepared his Australian athletes.
“It’s just un-Australian, to be honest. I’m not here to defend that,” Taylor said at the Olympics. “As far as what happens post the Games, that will be dealt with.
“I’m very critical of him. I was angry. I made sure he knew that. I believe it was a very bad error of judgment and the consequences for that will be coming in the future when we get back home.”
Australian Olympic Team chef de mission Anna Meares said in a at a press conference at the time: “This is a conflict and a serious error of judgment.”
Palfrey will lose his six-figure Swimming Australia salary and his role at USC Spartans on the Sunshine Coast.