Aussie swim coach faces sanction for Korean support

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Aussie swim coach faces sanction for Korean support

An *********** Olympic swim coach is facing sanction for publicly stating he hopes a star South Korean athlete defeats the Dolphins at the Paris Games.

Michael Palfrey, one of eight coaches on the Dolphins team, has told *********** officials he’s “very sorry” for his comments to Korean media.

Palfrey told Korean television he hopes South Korea’s Kim Woo-min wins the men’s 400m freestyle in Paris – an event contested by *********** duo Sam Short and Elijah Winnington.

“I really hope he can win but ultimately I really hope he swims well,” Palfrey told Korean media, before ending the interview by saying: “Go Korea.”

Australia’s Olympic chef de mission Anna Meares said Palfrey’s comments were “a conflict and a serious error of judgment”.

“He is very aware and very sorry for what has occurred,” Meares told reporters in Paris on Thursday.

Swimming Australia head coach Rohan Taylor will decide any disciplinary action which Meares said would be backed by *********** team hierarchy.

“We won’t be stepping in over the top of Swimming Australia,” Meares said.

“We will be working with them and any decision that they make, we will support.”

Palfrey works with *********** swimmers Zac Incerti, Abbey Connor and Alex Perkins.

He has also mentored South Korean swimmers in Brisbane including Kim, who won 400m freestyle at the world championships in Qatar in February.

*********** coaches were told in March to end any association with non-*********** swimmers before the Paris Olympics.

Meares said Palfrey’s comments and whether he was still involved with Korean swimmers were both problematic issues.

“They both carry similar weight,” she said.

“But the fact that he’s commented about the athlete winning against the *********** team, that’s the ******* issue.”

Taylor, the head coach overseeing the eight other coaches on the *********** swim team, will hold a media conference later on Thursday.

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