British Swimming Head Coach Bill Furniss has been awarded an OBE in recognition of his dedication to sport in a career at the top that spans more than 30 years.
Furniss was named within the Queen’s Birthday Honours after leading the coaching staff and athletes to Great Britain’s most successful Olympics for more than 100 years at the Rio 2016 Games.
Furniss is a vastly experienced coach, having worked at international level for more than three decades. Prior his position with British Swimming he was the head coach of the Nova Centurion swimming club in Nottingham. He has worked with a number of highly successful athletes, most notably four time Olympic medallist Rebecca Adlington.
Commenting on his OBE, Furniss said: “This is a surprise because we do what we do for the love of the sport and not for awards.
“It is a massive honour but is one I feel should be shared due to the progress made by British Swimming in the past four years under the leadership of Chris Spice and myself. We’ve worked well together as a team and collectively achieved some wonderful results so I feel this should be an honour shared.
“I’ve had a long career in swimming and many people, including my family, have contributed so much along the way. There have been some very proud moments for me personally and working with Becky [Adlington] and winning four Olympic medals, including two Olympic titles, is amongst the most memorable.”
About British Swimming
British Swimming is the National Governing Body for Swimming, Para-Swimming, Diving, High Diving, Synchronised Swimming, Water Polo and Open Water in Great Britain. It is responsible internationally for the high performance representation of the sport. The members of British Swimming are the three Home Countries national governing bodies of England (ASA), Scotland (Scottish ASA) and Wales (Welsh ASA). British Swimming seeks to enable its athletes to achieve gold medal success at the Olympics, Paralympics, World Championships and Commonwealth Games.
About UK Sport
Every athlete who has received National Lottery funding will have a story to tell of the difference that it has made to their Olympic or Paralympic dream. But the simple truth is that the National Lottery has taken sport in the UK to a new level. Each successive Games proves that there is no longer any margin for error if you want the top prize. Medals are won and lost by the smallest possible margins – the power of UK Sport’s National Lottery investment is in its ability to seek out those tenths, hundredths or even thousandths of a second, wherever they exist, and make sure that if there’s a close call, British athletes emerge on the winning side.
About TYR
Named for TYR, the Norse god of warriors, our company is committed to cultivating a culture of greatness, both in and out of the water. Through vision and American ingenuity, we have become a brand synonymous with the athlete.
From the planning stages to the production floor, everything we do revolves around synthesizing creativity, experience and competition. For us, engineering the most advanced performance products is more than just a goal, it’s a requirement.
Press Release courtesy of British Swimming.
Well deserved.
Mr. Furnish has done amazing things with British swimming and absolutely deserves this high honor.
Furniss….damn auto-correct!
There was a Bill Chip Furniss that swam in the early 1970’s, Brother of Steve and Bruce.
I know! A long time ago, I thought he was one of the Furniss brothers. Had to Google him to find out. Nope. Different Bill Furniss.
FAKE AWARD ALERT . There is no British Empire to be an Orfer of .
ohh yes , great job indeed since 2012 .