Editor’s note: This award specifically relates to Canadian coaches who have had success with swimmers at the senior international level. We will have an additional award for success at the junior level, later.
The Canadian team saw a great deal of success at the 2012 Olympic Games where they won three medals, one silver (Ryan Cochrane – 1500 freestyle) and two bronze (Brent Hayden – 100 freestyle and Richard Weinberger – 10 km), the first time that they have won multiple medals at an Olympic Games since 1996. In Barcelona they sustained that momentum winning four medals, one silver (Ryan Cochrane – 1500 freestyle) a silver (Eric Hedlin – 5 km) and two bronze (Ryan Cochrane – 800 freestyle, and Hilary Caldwell – 200 backstroke.
In London the medals were won by three swimmers who swam for three different coaches, but in Barcelona all three medalists came from one program, the Victoria Swimming Academy. This leads us to an easy winner of the 2013 Swammy Award for Canadian Senior Coach of Year, Randy Bennett he Head Coach of the Victoria Swimming Academy and the Head Coach of the Canadian National Team at the World Championships.
Bennett has been the Head Coach of the Victoria Swimming Academy since it’s inception in 2008 and has created a program that has consistently produced some of the best performances for Canada on the international stage. Being rewarded for his leadership and continued success Bennett has been the Head Coach of the National team at the last three World Championships as well as the London Olympics.
Bennett’s star athlete for the last number of years has been Ryan Cochrane, who has stood on the medal podium at every major competition since and including the 2008 Olympics. In 2013 Cochrane collected a silver in the 1500 freestyle and a bronze in the 800 freestyle at the World Championships in Barcelona.
Although Bennett is best know for his work with Cochrane, his success in the 2013 season was not achieved by one superstar. He placed five swimmers on the World Championships team (Cochrane, Caldwell, Hedlin, Alexa Komarnycky and Alec Page), tied for the most with UBC coach Tom Johnson. Along with Cochrane he placed two more swimmers on the medal podium in Barcelona, Eric Hedlin in the 5km and Hilary Caldwell in the 200 backstroke.
Hedlin has made great strides this year after winning a silver in the 800 freestyle at the 2013 Universiade in Kazan he followed that up by winning the silver in the 5 km event in Barcelona.
Bennett’s most impressive work though was with Hilary Caldwell. Caldwell’s improvement in the last year has been incredible. After making a major breakthrough in 2012 when she made the Canadian Olympic team posting a 2:09.14 to win the 200 backstroke at the Canadian Trials, she went on to improve that time by almost three full seconds in Barcelona where she won the bronze in a new Canadian record time of 2:06.80.
Once again being reward for his efforts Bennett won Omega’s Coach of the Year for both Male and Female as part of Swimming Canada’s Big Splash awards.
Honourable Mention:
An honourable mention goes to Marc-Andre Pelletier the Head Coach of CSQ for his work with Katerine Savard. Savard won gold in the 100 butterfly and silver in the 50 butterfly at the Universiade in Kazan, set three national marks in the 50 butterfly (26.05), 100 butterfly (57.31) and the 100 butterfly SCM (56.35) and finished fifth in Barcelona in the 100 butterfly.
two corrections:
Eric Hedlin won a silver, not a bronze medal in the 5 km open water race.
Will Brothers, another of Randy Bennett’s swimmers, also made the World Championships team.
Hi Catherine,
Sorry about the mess up on the colour of the medal, not really sure how I didn’t catch that, it has been corrected.
I am not sure how the group is split in Victoria, but the official coach of record for Will Brothers at the World Championships was Ryan Mallette not Randy.