To see all of our 2020 Swammy Awards, click here.
2020 ASIAN COACH OF THE YEAR: NORIMASA HIRAI
For the 5th year in a row, Japanese National Team Head Coach Norimasa Hirai takes home the Swammy for Asian Coach of the Year.
The 57-year-old mastermind behind Toyo University simply has an evergreen stable of performers, including Kosuke Hagino , Yui Ohashi, Takeshi Kawamoto and Rio Shirai.
New to Hirai’s coaching resume for 2020 was his experience on the International Swimming League (ISL) scene, assisting Head Coach Dave Salo to lead the debut season of the Tokyo Frog Kings. The squad made it to the final 8 and finished the season with two swimmers remaining entirely undefeated in the 400m IM for men and women, respectively – Hagino and Ohashi.
With the Olympics in view, Hagino currently ranks as the 3rd fastest long course 200m IMer in the world this season, as well as the 4th fastest long course 400m IMer. This is after the man took a near-5-month hiatus in 2019 and fought motivation demons through most of the year. However, under Hirai’s guidance, Hagino has helped his mind and body return to form.
Ohashi is the short course 400m IM world leader, while her 200m IM best time of 2020 sits only behind Kaylee McKeown of Australia.
Kawamoto was another breakthrough athlete under Hirai for 2020. The ace ended his inaugural ISL season as the male MVP of the Tokyo Frog Kings, partly due to his prowess in the individual men’s 100m fly, as well as the 50m fly skins.
Before he decided to change coaches upon the IOC’s decision to postpone the 2020 Olympic Games, Daiya Seto was another longtime protege of Hirai, with the 26-year-old having cracked a new 200m fly Japanese national record of 1:52.53 at the FINA Champions Series.
HONORABLE MENTION
- Yoji Suzuki, Central Sports (JPN) – The former Japanese National Team Head Coach has helped mold Katsuhiro (Katsuo) Matsumoto into one of the world’s premier 200m freestylers. After producing the nation’s first-ever World Championships medal in the 200m last year with silver in Gwangju, Matsumoto carried his momentum into 2020, firing off two short course national records. He posted a 400m free NR of 3:37.94 in January and recently clocked a big-time 1:41.77 SCM 200 free while competing in the ISL. Suzuki has also encouraged experimentation with his star athlete, with Matsumoto recently turning in the fastest 100m fly performance of his career in 52.49.
- Kenji Saijo, Tokyo Swimming Center (JPN) – Under Saijo’s tutelage, 19-year-old Shoma Sato became the world’s 5th fastest performer all-time in the men’s LCM 200 breaststroke. Sato punched a time of 2:07.02 this past October, dropping his previous best of 2:07.58 to a new low by over half a second. Sato’s first sub-2:10 200 breast came just in 2019, meaning Saijo has helped guide Sato to a 2-second time drop in just over a year, inserting the teen into the Olympic final contender conversation.
- Cui Dengrong, (CHN) – The mentor of versatile Chinese star Zhang Yufei watched his athlete swim the meet of her life at the 2020 Chinese Swimming Championships this past September. Zhang fired off two national records en route to entering the world’s all-time rankings. Zhang hit a personal best of 55.62 in the LCM 100 fly to become China’s first-ever sub-56 flyer and the 2nd fastest performer all-time worldwide. At that same meet, Zhang became China’s first-ever female to dip under the 53-second threshold in the 100m free, producing a new Chinese national record of 52.90.
Past Winners:
- 2020 Swammy – Norimasa Hirai
- 2019 Swammy – Norimasa Hirai
- 2018 Swammy — Norimasa Hirai & Takayuki Umehara
- 2017 Swammy — Norimasa Hirai
- 2016 Swammy — Norimasa Hirai
- 2015 Swammy — Sergio Lopez
