All quotes courtesy of Jim Morris of Swimming Canada.
For the second straight year, Greg Arkhurst has been named Swimming Canada’s Coach of the Year as the only Canadian coach to guide a swimmer to a World Championship medal.
The 49-year-old, who represented the Ivory Coast at the 2000 and 2004 Olympics, joined Club Aquatique Montreal Natation (CAMO) in 2009 and was promoted to head coach in 2021.
Arkhurst coached 25-year-old Mary-Sophie Harvey to bronze in the women’s 200 IM at the 2025 World Championships despite significant obstacles, including a shoulder injury she sustained during the competition and a pool closure forcing CAMO swimmers to train at several different facilities throughout the year.
“It’s really an honor,” Arkhurst told Swimming Canada. “I’m very proud because (the award symbolizes) a lot of work and a lot of investment from my swimmers, my team, my staff and the administrative bureau which supports me in the club.”
Arkhurst said he and Harvey have built mutual respect, though things weren’t always easy.
“When we started, I wanted her to feel I was going to be there to support her and support her dreams. But at the same time, it was going to be very hard to get that, and we had to be very honest with each other. We didn’t start as good as we wanted,” Arkhurst said.
“We had a good talk at some point where I think she realized she needed to do a little more than what she was doing to achieve her dreams. She had all the tools to make it, but we had to put a different kind of work than she was used to. She had to be world class every week.”
Harvey won her bronze in a time of 2:09.15 after setting a best time of 2:08.78 at the Canadian Trials, and she also finished 15th in the 200 free and 17th in the 200 breast in Singapore.
Time-wise, Harvey’s best performances came at the Trials in June, before she began experiencing shoulder pain. She won the 200 free (1:56.60), 200 breast (2:23.40) and 100 fly (58.37) while placing 2nd in both the 200 and 400 IM (4:35.56). Her swims in the 200 breast, 200 IM and 400 IM were all best times, while in the 200 free, she had been slightly faster earlier in the year, going 1:56.46 in April.
In the 400 free, though she didn’t end up racing it at Trials, she set a big best time of 4:05.42 in May. At the end of 2025, she ranked in the top 12 in the world in four different events and in the top 50 in two others: 7th in the 200 IM, 8th in the 200 breast, 10th in the 400 IM, 12th in the 400 free, 24th in the 200 free and 44th in the 100 fly.
At the end of the year in short course, she broke the Canadian Record in the 1500 free (15:49.06) and claimed silver in the 400 IM at the Westmont leg of the World Cup before setting best times en route to silver in the 400 IM (4:24.25) and bronze in the 200 fly (2:03.73) in Toronto.
Harvey broke onto the scene at the junior level in 2015, and had a few up and down years before really finding her groove and going best times again in the lead-up to the Paris Olympics. Despite not reaching the podium, she delivered an exceptional Olympic performance with four 4th-place finishes: 4th in the 200 free and three relay 4ths (4×200 free, 4×100 free, and 4×100 medley).
“When I started with Greg I was a little bit lost on what I could still achieve in swimming,” Harvey told the Canadian Swimming Coaches Association (CSCA) shortly after the Olympics. “I thought my good years were behind me. He made me believe I was not done and I could still accomplish stuff I can be proud of.
“It was good I trusted him in that. We have a really good relationship. I have full trust in him and he trusts me. That’s why it’s so great right now. I’m glad I kept swimming because I think the good years are ahead of me.”
Harvey will not race at the Commonwealth Games this year, which means her primary meet will be Pan Pacs in August, where she could be a multi-event medalist.
