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Coasting in a qualifying heat has absolutely zero effect on the outcome of an event. The same 4 qualifiers move on to the next round regardless of whether they give max effort. Not a single one of the top competitors gives max effort, all the time, in qualifying heats. Not even in an event as short as the 100 meter dash---if Bolt is ahead at 70 yards in a heat, he'll ease off in the last 30. You don't want to leave your best effort in the pool or on the track in a heat--you want it there in the final. Or even worse, in a track sprint, pull a muscle and not be able to race the next round.
Tanking to get to play a lower seed is way different. Especially in team events, which are usually conducted on a round-robin basis. You play a certain number of games in the qualifier, and the top half of the bracket moves on to the medal rounds. You're a team that's already locked up a spot in the medal round. You're seeded to face Opponent X if you win the last game in a round-robin tourney, and Opponent X presents match-up problems, whereas you match up better with Opponent Y, who'll you play if you lose the last game. Tanking the last game to play Y instead of X can affect the outcome of the event. That's why they landed hard on the Chinese.
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