Aussie swimmer's telling response as coach Michael Palfrey sacked after Olympics furore
Swim coach Michael Palfrey was sacked by Swimming Australia for his 'Go Korea' remarks at the Paris Games.
Australian swimmer Elijah Winnington says he wasn't bothered by Aussie swim coach Michael Palfrey's 'Go Korea' remarks as the trainer was retrospectively sacked for breaching his employment agreement. Palfrey was given his marching orders on Friday on the back of a controversial interview at the Paris Olympics where he talked up the chances of South Korean swimmer Kim Woo-min.
The coach was ultimately allowed to stay in Paris, despite backlash over his 'un-Australian' comments. At the time Palfrey was employed by Swimming Australia but was also close with several Korean swim stars that he previously worked with, including Kim.
However, Kim was racing against Aussie duo Winnington and Sam Short in the men’s 400m freestyle and it called into question where his allegiances lie. The comments he made about Kim on Korean TV, were reportedly along the lines of him 'really hoping' Kim can win the event.
It was decided by head coach Rohan Taylor in the days that followed to keep Palfrey on, but he stressed that it was an "ongoing discussion for when we return home". And following discussions, it has been decided that he will no longer be employed by Swimming Australia.
“Swimming Australia has terminated Michael Palfrey’s employment due to a breach of his employment agreement,” the governing body said 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.
“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.”
But silver medallist in the 400m freestyle, Winnington said he "couldn't care less" about his remarks. "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 a 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."
Rohan Taylor angered by Michael Palfrey's comments
Palfrey's remarks, however, didn't go down well with Swimming Australia's head coach Rohan Taylor. Taylor considered sending him home immediately but ultimately decided to keep him in Paris due to the workloads on other Dolphins coaches.
"I'm very critical of him," Taylor said on July 26. "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.
"But for the nine days of our (swimming) competition, my job is to make a call around the wellbeing and the performance environment and that's what I've done. And it comes down to coaching loads, athlete loads.
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"To have somebody make a really silly error of judgment and not really think about the team at that time was disappointing for me. And so from that perspective, I was angry and I made sure that he knew that."
Australia's Olympic chef de mission Anna Meares also flagged at the time that the coach's comments were "a conflict and a serious error of judgment". "He is very aware and very sorry for what has occurred," Meares said on July 26.
with agencies
