Auburn has announced the hiring of Arilson Silva as the program’s new associate head coach, effective at the end of... Current photo via Auburn Athletics
“I’m so excited to join the Auburn Swimming and Diving program,” said Silva. “I want to thank head coach Ryan Wochomurka for offering me this incredible opportunity. As a Brazilian coach, I’ve built my career knowing that Auburn is a reference of excellence, and for years I have been watching some of our best Brazilian swimmers train here and move on to great careers. I am ready to collaborate with this staff and look forward to what we can accomplish. War Eagle!”
Silva’s jump from Georgia Tech, which qualified three men individually for the NCAA Championships, came after the Yellowjackets announced head diving coach John Ames as the new swimming & diving head coach. Silva was publicly considered to be a front-runner for that position.
This year’s Georgia Tech team at NCAAs includes Mert Kilavuz who enters NCAAs with the 12th-fastest time in the country in the 1650 free, as well as freshman Uros Zivanovic and senior Berke Saka.
“I am thrilled to welcome Ari to the Auburn Family,” said Wochomurka. “His proven track record of developing athletes on the collegiate and international levels will be a major asset to our program. He is an accomplished and published expert in the biomechanics and physiology of our sport, but more importantly, the passion and positive energy he brings to the pool deck every day is contagious! I look forward to partnering with Ari as we share a common mission and passion for recruiting and mentoring student-athletes from around the country and the globe to compete at the highest level on the NCAA and world stage. War Eagle!”
While Silva is a new face at Auburn, he has long ties to the program. He was a late-career coach of former Auburn Tiger Cesar Cielo, the current World Record holder in the 50 free.
Along with Cielo, Silva helped Felipe Franca become the first man to swim sub-27 seconds in the 50-meter breaststroke in 2009, setting the world record at 26.89. Andriy Govorov’s 50-meter butterfly world record (22.27), set in 2018, still stands.
While in his home country of Brazil, Silva was a member of the Brazilian Swimming Technical Council and the Brazilian Academy of Coaches Olympic Institute. Silva’s experience also includes participation in the International Coaching Enrichment Program promoted by the United States Olympic Committee and the University of Delaware.
Silva graduated with a bachelor’s degree in physical education and Sportive Techniques from Guarulhos University. He also took an extension course specializing in Exercise Physiology (1993- Medicine School of São Paulo) and Sportive Training (1994- University of São Paulo).
The Auburn men finished 8th and the women finished 9th at the SEC Championships in February. Those positions are both a slide from their 2nd and 4th place finishes, respectively, a season earlier.
The Auburn men have three individual swimmers qualified for the NCAA Championships like Georgia Tech: senior Mason Mathias, junior Danny Schmidt, and senior Nate Stoffle. The women have 7 individual qualifiers: Morgan Carteaux, Audrey Crawford, Elizaveta Klevanovich, Lora Komoroczy, Anastasia Makarova, Lexi Mulvihill, and Julia Strojnowska.
Braden Keith is the Editor-in-Chief and a co-founder/co-owner of SwimSwam.com.
He first got his feet wet by building The Swimmers' Circle beginning in January 2010, and now comes to SwimSwam to use that experience and help build a new leader in the sport of swimming.
Aside from his life on the InterWet, …
Dropping swimmers like flies but has more room for coach’s 🙄