Coach banned six years for assaulting daughter

The Associated Press

Published Saturday, March 31, 2007

FINA banned a Ukrainian coach for six years after television footage showed him scuffling with his swimmer daughter at the world championships in Melbourne, Australia.

Mikhaylo Zubkov was shown pushing and shoving his 18-year-old daughter, Kateryna, during an altercation in a waiting area at Rod Laver Arena on Tuesday. The scene was caught by host broadcaster Nine Network and quickly made its way around the world on the Internet.

FINA, the governing body of swimming, held a second hearing on the matter yesterday and ruled that Zubkov breached the group’s code of conduct and dishonored the sport. The ban was announced this morning.

A disciplinary panel recommended the 38-year-old Zubkov be immediately banned from any activities under the jurisdiction of FINA or its member federations. The six-year ban follows FINA’s decision Wednesday to temporarily suspend the coach.

The panel heard testimony from Zubkov and his daughter before making its decision.

● ‘THORPEDO’ SUPER-CHARGED?: The swimming world was rocked by a report that five-time Olympic gold medalist Ian Thorpe showed "abnormal levels" of two banned substances in a doping test six months before he retired.

The French sports daily L’Equipe reported that anti-doping officials in Australia threw out the case against the "Thorpedo" for lack of scientific proof.

Without mentioning Thorpe by name, FINA confirmed that it had appealed an Australian doping case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, the highest tribunal in the sports world.

L’Equipe said Thorpe had irregular levels of testosterone and luteinizing hormone when tested in May 2006.