U.S. Olympic and national team artistic swimming coach Hiea-Yoon Kang has been suspended from coaching at her Southern California training base in the wake of dozens of allegations that for more than a decade she has routinely abused and bullied young athletes, the Orange County Register has learned.
While Kang has been suspended from coaching at Splash! La Mirada Regional Aquatics Center pending the outcome of a U.S. Center for SafeSport investigation, La Mirada Aquabelles, the local club Kang founded and turned into a pipeline to the U.S. national team will continue to train at the facility, La Mirada city manager Jeff Boynton confirmed Wednesday.
The city’s suspension follows the publication last month of a more than nine-month Register investigation in which current and former U.S. national team and Aquabelles swimmers in interviews and documents alleged that Kang regularly physically, verbally and emotionally abused athletes as young as 9, many of whom have been driven hours each day or relocated from other parts of the state or country to train under Kang.
Kang repeatedly bullied, laughed at or ignored swimmers sobbing or screaming in pain and in at least one instance personally dislocated an athlete’s toe during stretching drills and training, 16 current and former Aquabelles swimmers, including former U.S. national team members, and parents allege in interviews, formal complaints filed with the U.S. Center for Safe Sport, other confidential Safe Sport documents and athlete interview recordings and transcripts, and USA Artistic Swimming documents obtained by the Register.
The U.S. Center for SafeSport has received complaints from as many as 18 swimmers and parents against Kang detailing more than 80 specific allegations over the course of the past 13 years ranging from physical, verbal and emotional abuse, bullying, body shaming, forcing athletes to compete or train while injured or suffering from medical issues that required surgery, and child labor and endangerment abuses, according to SafeSport documents obtained by the Register and interviews.
Kang was suspended as a U.S. Olympic and national team coach by USA Artistic Swimming, the sport’s national governing body, on May 9.
“The City recently became aware of an investigation being conducted by U.S. Center for SafeSport regarding allegations against Coach Kang; some of which are alleged to have occurred at Splash! La Mirada Regional Aquatics Center,” Boynton wrote in an email to the Register Wednesday. “The City also learned that Coach Kang was recently suspended by USA Artistic Swimming pending the results of the investigation. Out of an abundance of caution, the City made the decision to temporarily suspend Coach Kang from coaching at Splash! La Mirada Regional Aquatics Center until the results of the investigation by SafeSport are known. Until then, the City will be providing no further comment on this item.”
Kang has not responded to repeated requests for comment.
Kang in January was named an assistant coach for the Los Angeles-based U.S. national team and tasked with playing a leading role in preparing Team USA for the Olympic Games in Paris later this summer. It was the latest in a series of Team USA promotions for Kang, who has been part of U.S. national team staffs since 2011.
The appointment came 16 months after Adam Andrasko, chief executive officer of USA Artistic Swimming, the sport’s national governing body, was presented with complaints alleging “psychological and emotional misconduct and abuse” by Kang, that she forced injured athletes to practice or compete, routinely body shamed young athletes and committed child labor abuse by punishing athletes as young as 11 by making them teach swimming to and monitor children between ages 5 and 7 for up to two hours per day while otherwise unsupervised by adults or any certified lifeguard, according to USA Artistic Swimming documents. One parent alleged in a complaint that their 11-year-old daughter witnessed a small child nearly drown while being “taught” by another Aquabelle team member.
Swimmers suffered regular physical abuse by Kang ranging from being required to train as much as 40 hours per week, being forced to train or compete while recovering from surgeries, injuries that required other medical treatment and concussions, to being subjected to hypoxic training that put athletes at risk of losing consciousness under water, athletes and parents allege in interviews, SafeSport complaints and recordings. Swimmers have suffered dislocated toes and hyperextended knees and other leg injuries during drills in which Kang has manipulated their legs or feet to the point where some swimmers scream in pain or are left in tears, athletes and parents allege in interviews, complaints and Safe Sport interview recordings.
A U.S. national team member recalled Kang laughing as 11- and 12-year-old swimmers cried in pain during a two-chair drill designed to create greater flexibility. In the drill, a swimmer does the splits, resting the bottom part of her front leg on the front chair, her lower part of her back leg on the chair behind her, her torso and upper part of both legs suspended between the two chairs with Kang sitting on the hamstring area of a girl’s unsupported back leg.
“The girls are crying, tears running down their faces and Hiea is laughing about it and saying, ‘Suck it up.’ That turns it from helping to being malicious.”
Kang also routinely verbally abuses athletes, swearing at them or calling them “dumb,” “stupid,” or “losers,” according to interviews, SafeSport complaints and recordings.
“‘Losers’ is her favorite word,” Miranda Marquez, a former Aquabelles swimmer said.
Kang regularly body shames swimmers, making critical and demeaning comments about their weight, appearance, physiques and diet, according to interviews and complaints. In April 2020, Kang required swimmers as young as 13 to regularly send her photos of them wearing sports bras or bikini tops and leggings so she could track changes in their physique over a month-long period.
Kang has denied swimmers water breaks and limited their lunch break to five minutes even on days where the athletes are training eight hours, swimmers and parents allege. Kang at times has refused to let swimmers leave the pool to eat or even touch the pool’s walls while in the water, leaving swimmers to consume snacks like cheese sticks while egg-beating to stay afloat in the middle of the water, athletes and parents said in interviews.
Swimmers and parents also allege that Kang was being paid to teach young children, some preschool-aged, yet instead of teaching the children herself, instructed some of her artistic swimmers to supervise the children, some of them not much older than the child they were watching, according to SafeSport complaints, interviews and two videos. Sometimes Kang ordered Aquabelles swimmers to supervise the small children as punishment for mistakes during practice or being injured, according to SafeSport complaints and interviews.One incident involving a 5-year-old boy in 2022 at the La Mirada facility was particularly alarming, swimmers and parents allege.
The mother of two Aquabelles students wrote to SafeSport that she removed her children from the club in 2022 because of “safety concerns that I have personally witnessed.”
The boy and other small children were left by Kang to be supervised by grade school- and middle school-aged artistic swimmers while she coached the Aquabelles teams, the boy’s mother alleged in a SafeSport complaint.
“One day, (her son) was in the pool holding on to one of the students for a long time because he did not know how to swim on his own. He was scared and was crying. (Her son) was floating on his back and Coach Kang told the student to help (her son) to swim on his stomach. (Her son) began crying and wanted to get out of the pool. However, Coach Kang made (her son) stay in the water and had the student help (her son) to stay afloat and flip him on his stomach. (Her son) continued to cry wanting to get out of the water. All the students including Coach Kang all laughed at (her son) when he was crying wanting to get out of the water. This incident was video recorded.
“It seems like Coach Kang and the older students were getting a kick out of (her son) struggling in the water.”
On a video of the incident obtained by the Register, Kang can be heard instructing a swimmer, appearing to be grade school or middle school age, to approach the 5-year-old who was flailing while trying to float on his back.
“Come over here and flip him over,” Kang said.
“What are you doing?”
Kang is then heard laughing.
“Just flip him over on his stomach,” she said before continuing to laugh.
“OK,” she said.
She then continued laughing.
Three parents confirmed it is Kang’s voice on the video.
The 5-year-old, the mother wrote, “consumed a lot of pool water. After this incident, (her son) was sick for three days with fever and missed school. He had stomach pains and vomited numerous times. I believe this was due to (her son) drinking a lot of pool water. It is fortunate that there were no serious accidents during the practice sessions.
“I strongly believe Coach Kang should have regular assistants that are properly trained to handle the novice swimmers. Otherwise, there is bound to be consequences.”