Competitor Coach of the Month is a recurring SwimSwam feature shedding light on a U.S.-based coach who has risen above the competition. As with any item of recognition, Competitor Coach of the Month is a subjective exercise meant to highlight one coach whose work holds noteworthy context – perhaps a coach who was clearly in the limelight, or one whose work fell through the cracks a bit more among other stories. If your favorite coach wasn’t selected, feel free to respectfully recognize them in our comment section.
Sarasota Sharks head coach Brent Arckey has led his swimmers to a series of very strong performances this season, culminating with a standout month of March that was headlined by the performances of Summer McIntosh at the Canadian Swimming Trials.
McIntosh, who started training with Arckey and the Sharks full-time last fall, made history at the recently-concluded Trials by setting new world records in the women’s 400 freestyle (3:56.08) and 400 IM (4:25.87) while adding some of the fastest swims ever in the 200 free (1:53.91), 200 fly (2:04.70) and 200 IM (2:06.89).
The 16-year-old has been a burgeoning superstar for years, setting too many Canadian Age Group Records to count on her way up the ranks, but she’s really taken her game to a new level since aligning with Arckey. Prior to her swims at the Trials, McIntosh was also breaking records and setting new best times in-season at events such as the U.S. Open in December and the Pro Swim Series stop in Fort Lauderdale in early March.
As a result of McIntosh’s performances, Arckey was named to the Canadian coaching staff for the 2023 World Championships.
Two other Sarasota swimmers competing at the Trials were Bailey O’Regan and Abby Dunford, who placed fifth and sixth in the women’s 800 free, respectively, with O’Regan setting a personal best time of 8:50.65.
In addition to McIntosh, Arckey led the likes of Addison Sauickie, Gracie Weyant, Michaela Mattes and Amadeusz Knop to impressive swims at the Pro Swim event, with Mattes notably making the podium in the women’s 800 free and the other four earning at least one top 10 finish.
A training group that is getting increased attention after McIntosh’s world record performances, Arckey has been doing some phenomenal work with his athletes that’s clearly working.
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