Competitor Coach of the Month: Dave Durden, Cal

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.

A banner summer for the California Aquatics men left them with a truckload of international travel roster spots for Team USA. And if the month of June is any indication, they’re gearing up to make the most of them.

Coach Dave Durden‘s current collegiate swimmers and Cal-based post-grads put up some great swims this month, mostly at the long course dual meet between Cal (California Aquatics) and Stanford (Alto Swim Club).

Maybe most notable were two very strong performances from Nathan Adrian, competing in just his second meet since undergoing treatment for testicular cancer. Adrian competed on the Pro Swim Series in May, going 22.2 and 49.3 in the sprint freestyles. But this month, he was 22.17 and 48.50, showing great improvement in that 100 free over just a month. His 100 free ranks #2 among Americans for the month of June.

Andrew Seliskar continued to impress after a great summer of 2018 and a stellar 2018 NCAA Championships. Seliskar went 1:46.89 in the 200 free, the fastest American this month. He also hit a new lifetime-best in the 100 fly, going 51.42 for the 2nd-fastest time among Americans this month.

Most of Durden’s top athletes are tuning up for major international meets in the next month, and only swam light lineups. Still, they managed to be among the best American swimmers this month. Backstroke star Ryan Murphy was 1:55.77 in the 200 back, fastest among Americans this month. Josh Prenot hit a 2:10.43 in the 200 breast, #2 among Americans this month. Tom Shields was 1:58.44 in the 200 fly, one of the better in-season 200 flys of his career. Shields sits #3 among Americans this month, and also went 52.45 in the 100 fly (6th among Americans in June).

About Competitor Swim

Since 1960, Competitor Swim® has been the leader in the production of racing lanes and other swim products for competitions around the world. Competitor lane lines have been used in countless NCAA Championships, as well as 10 of the past 13 Olympic Games. Molded and assembled using U.S. – made components, Competitor lane lines are durable, easy to set up and are sold through distributors and dealers worldwide.

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