‘Ugly parent syndrome’ as Ukrainian swim coach banned
Wed 28 Mar, 08:46 AM
MELBOURNE (AFP) - A Ukrainian swimming coach has been banned from making contact with his daughter after they were filmed fighting here in what a leading athlete called another example of “that ugly parent syndrome”. Mikhail Zubkov, 38, was thrown out of the world championships and police issued a domestic violence order against him.
It prevents contact with his 18-year-old daughter Kateryna Zubkova, a 2004 European championship medallist, or coming within 200 metres of her.
World swimming’s governing body FINA said Wednesday that after viewing footage of Zubkov’s “unacceptable behaviour” it had withdrawn his accreditation and a disciplinary hearing would be held “as soon as possible”
The seven-minute skirmish happened Tuesday evening in the marshalling room at Rod Laver Arena where the swimmers gather before a race and was captured on camera by host broadcaster Channel Nine.
Zubkov was seen pushing and striking his daughter, a backstroker
Victoria state police superintendent Mick Williams said the images were “disturbing” and they were investigating whether criminal charges could be laid.
The girl, the holder of eight Ukrainian national titles, has been interviewed by police and examined by a doctor who found she was uninjured.
“The advice I’ve got is she was quite open and frank, and did not hold back about what the incident was about,” Williams told reporters.
She competed in the 50m backstroke qualifiers Wednesday morning and won her heat but finished 18th overall, missing out on the semi-finals.
Like FINA, Melbourne 2007 director Michael Scott said the scenes were “unacceptable”.
“It is unacceptable in Australia, it is unacceptable anywhere else in the world that sort of behaviour,” Scott told reporters.
“It is a very serious matter.”
One of Australia’s best-known swimmers, two-time Olympic champion Kieren Perkins, said the “ugly parent syndrome” captured on television was not rare in sport and that the swimming community would be appalled.
“As a father (I was) shocked, just unbelievable,” he told Southern Cross Broadcasting.
"You know that stuff goes on, but to actually see it is extraordinarily confronting and there’s just never a justification for it.
"As a swimmer, it’s not the first time I’ve seen it and it probably won’t be the last time I see it.
"It’s frightening - that ugly parent syndrome which you talk about - it’s out there and it’s something that needs to be addressed and dealt with. How? I don’t know.
“It’s the greatest destruction of an athlete’s career. They think they’re trying to motivate and push their kids. But all they’re doing is fast-tracking them to oblivion.”
Overbearing parents pushing their children to excel have been most evident in the lucrative world of tennis.
One of the best known examples was Damir Dokic, the erratic father and one-time coach of Croatian-born former Australian citizen Jelena.
A report last year said she had paid him nearly one million US dollars in what was described as a “divorce-style settlement” to stay away from her.
In a similar vein, French Grand Slam winner Mary Pierce was at one point forced to take out a restraining order against her tyrannical coach and father Jim although the two have since made up.