Michael Palfrey, who is one of the coaches of Australia's national swimming team, wants a swimmer from South Korea to win Olympic gold - ahead of his own country's swimmers.
Therefore, he risks being sent home before the Olympics in Paris have begun.
On Wednesday, Michael Palfrey told South Korean media that he wants Kim Woo-Min to win the gold medal in the 400-meter freestyle.
A statement that made Australian head coach Rohan Taylor see red. This is because Australia has its own swimmers, Sam Short and Elijah Winnington, in that distance:
I'm very disappointed, extremely disappointed. For a coach in our team to promote another athlete ahead of our own is not acceptable, says Rohan Taylor.
Michael Palfrey has helped Kim Woo-Min with his training ahead of the Paris Olympics, while also training his fellow countrymen Zac Incerti, Abbey Connor, and Alex Perkins. Therefore, he has warm feelings for the South Korean, which the Australian swimming leadership cannot accept.
Swimming chief Rohan Taylor says he has to make a decision about whether Palfrey will be allowed to stay at the Olympics:
To promote an athlete who is not Australian is un-Australian. The alternatives are that he goes home or that he stays. The question is how it affects the team's performance. If he goes home, we have to find other coaches for his job, and our coaching resources are really limited, continued Taylor.
