Competitor Coach of the Month: Karl Krug, Spartans Aquatic Club

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.

It’s been a light month of swimming competition. But coach Karl Krug and the Spartans Aquatic Club in Georgia had a shockingly-fast showing at its Red vs Gold intrasquad meet from July 10-12.

Of the 26 events swum, 14 event winners bettered their seed times. The standout was rising high school senior Peter Sacca, who hit five new personal-best times. The 17-year-old isn’t yet tied to a college program, but should be moving up in his class after some big July drops:

Peter Sacca, Time Drops, July 2020:

Others winning events in career-best times, despite the coronavirus pandemic restricting training and competition this summer:

• Zara Boyer, age 12: dropped from 2:18.90 to 2:11.50 in the 200 free
• Sophie Hamilton, age 11: dropped from 1:01.78 to 1:01.42 in the 100 free
• Jensen Nelson, age 15: dropped from 1:55.86 to 1:55.36 in the 200 back
• Marlee Carmichael, age 12: dropped from 32.10 to 31.86 in the 50 fly
• Emma Thorne, age 12: dropped from 15.76 to 15.75 in the 25 fly
• Hudson Smith, age 12: dropped from 35.11 to 34.47 in the 50 back
• Whalen Pfister, age 10: seeded with no times (NT), but won the 25 back (18.62), 25 breast (21.95) and 25 free (15.32)

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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