The Olympic Club has announced Olympian Sean Killion as their new Head Swim Coach for its Junior Swim Team. “He joins The Olympic club with a wealth of swimming, leadership, and life experience,” the team wrote.
Killion attended Cal Berkeley, where he was an All-American and three-time captain of the men’s team. He made his first U.S. National Team in 1984 and qualified to represent the U.S. at the 1992 Olympic Games in the 400 and 1500-meter freestyle. He retired from competitive swimming after the Games and took an assistant coaching job at Rutgers University, but left to pursue a career away from the pool after a year.
In August 2023, Killion returned to the pool deck after nearly thirty years as the Head Coach of the Mavericks Swimming Association. When he took the job, Killion told the Half Moon Bay Review “I think a lot of it was this lingering sense that (coaching) is something I should do at some point, and then it just kind of lined up to where from a career perspective. I kind of feel like I hit the things that I wanted to achieve, and then now it’s maybe a new chapter.”
Now, Killion is starting another new chapter with the Olympic Club, one of the oldest athletic clubs in the United States.
“I am excited to represent one of the iconic brands in sport and to become part of a world class leadership organization at The Olympic Club,” Killion wrote in his LinkedIn post announcing his move. “I am looking forward to working with Bobby Savulich and his team on having a significant impact on young student-athletes in the San Francisco Bay Area. We are going to do hard things, have fun and enjoy the journey together!”
Killion held the American record in the 800 freestyle for more than 15 years. In addition to making the 1992 Olympic team, he represented the U.S. at the 1987 and 1991 Pan Pacific Championships and the 1986 Goodwill Games. He earned silver in the 400 freestyle at the 1987 Pan Pacs, then took gold in 1991.
Kill from the Hill!
Congrats Sean!