Competitor Coach of the Month: Dave Modzelewski

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.

The United States won 18 gold medals at the 2025 World Para Swimming Championships earlier this month in Singapore, and it was head coach Dave Modzelewski leading the way.

Modzelewski, a former University of Connecticut club swimmer, aligned with Para world champion Leanne Smith after the Tokyo Games in 2021, subsequently guiding her to seven world titles in 2022 and a pair of gold medals at the 2024 Paralympics.

After serving as an assistant coach on the U.S. staff at last summer’s Paralympics in Paris, Modzelewski was named the head coach of the U.S. team at the Para World Championships in June. He led the team to a strong performance, including tripling their gold medal haul from the last edition in 2023, with Smith adding three more world titles to her resume with wins in the women’s 50, 100 and 200 free S3.

Other standouts for the American team included Katie Kubiak, who won four gold and seven total medals in her Para World Championship debut in the S4 category (S5 in butterfly), Paralympian Olivia Chambers, who also claimed four world titles in the S13 category, and Mallory Weggemann, Gia Pergolini and Morgan Stickney, who all claimed two world titles apiece.

The top performer on the men’s side was Koehn Boyd, who earned a pair of silver medals in the 200 IM SM10 and 400 free S10.

Currently, Modzelewski serves as the primary coach of the 13 & over swimmers at the YMCA of the North Shore’s Beverly Branch while also overseeing the club’s Competitive Aquatics program.

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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