Courtesy: Denver Athletics
DENVER – The University of Denver men’s and women’s swimming and diving programs have named former Pioneer Graham Walker an assistant coach, head coach Alicia Hicken-Franklinannounced on Friday.
“Graham will bring his passion and love of swimming back to our program again, this time as a coach,” Hicken-Franklin said. “Graham had an incredible career as a Pioneer and made a strong impact on the program. He brings joy and energy to the pool deck, and is a positive, hard working and eager person. Our team will be better with his contributions and coaching, and our staff looks forward to getting him on board.”
Since graduating in 2020 as a member of the DU program, Walker spent a little less than a year as a swim instructor at WaterWorks Aquatics in Denver across the 2021-22 season. Walker has most recently served as an age group coach for the University of Denver Hilltoppers program that also trains and competes in El Pomar Natatorium.
While with the Hilltoppers, Walker managed a group of 30 year-round athletes of varying needs and abilities from the city of Denver, creating and executing training plans for individuals. Walker also focused on providing feedback for athletes in areas outside the water, such as physical, mental and emotional challenges.
In his time swimming in the Denver program, Walker captained the Pioneers in his final two seasons where he focused on creating a culture of cohesion by building relationship, guiding teammates forward and managing conflict. While he was a Pioneer, the Denver men’s program broke into the top-20 in the country in the rankings, and Walker qualified for the NCAA Championships. Walker also represented his home country of Kenya as a swimmer at the All-African Games and the Commonwealth Games.
As a student at DU, Walker graduated from the Josef Korbel School of International Studies with a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies and Sociology. Outside of the classroom, Walker played in an Ultimate Frisbee League, a soccer league and participated in the Student-Athlete Advisory Council.
Denver will begin its season on October 4 with the Front Range Invite on the campus of the Air Force Academy.
Let’s go Pios! Let’s go Coach Graham!