Category: Swimming & Diving

Anthony Nesty named ASCA George Haines Coach of the Year

Team USA’s strong showing at the Paris Olympics helped Florida’s swimming head coach earn the honor this year.

Florida’s swimming head coach [autotag]Anthony Nesty[/autotag] was named the 2024 ASCA George Haines Coach of the Year recipient on Thursday night at the Hall of Fame Induction and Awards Celebration during the ASCA World Clinic at the Rosen Centre Resort in Orlando, Florida.

Nesty was the men’s U.S. Olympic swim team head coach at the summer Olympic Games in Paris, where Team USA earned three golds, four silvers and three bronze medals. Former Gators standout [autotag]Bobby Finke[/autotag] was among those gold medal recipients, setting a world-record time (14:30:67) in the 1500-meter freestyle event.

Finke also earned a silver medal in the 800m free.

Another Florida alumnus, [autotag]Caeleb Dressel[/autotag], took home two gold medals — the men’s 4x100m free relay and mixed 4x100m medley relay — while adding a silver to his mantle with the men’s 4x100m medley relay team.

Former Gator [autotag]Kieran Smith[/autotag] was also part of Team USA’s men’s 4x200m freestyle relay team that swam to a second-place finish.

About the award

This award is presented annually to the individual whose coaching effectiveness has contributed the most towards American swimming excellence on the World stage. Nesty was named one of five finalists on Aug. 21 of this year, joining, Bob Bowman, Todd DeSorbo, Dave Durden, Greg Meehan, who had numerous medalists at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The ASCA Coach of the Year has been awarded since 1961. Past recipients include many greats in the profession, including George Haines, for whom the award is named, Doc Counsilman, Eddie Reese, Bob Bowman, Gregg Troy, Jon Urbanchek and many others. The last three winners have been Dave Durden, Anthony Nesty and Gregg Troy.

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Josh Liendo wins silver in 100m butterfly, earns first Olympic medal

Florida Gators swimmer Josh Liendo captures the silver medal for Canada in the 100-meter butterfly final at the Paris Olympic Games.

Florida junior swimmer [autotag]Josh Liendo[/autotag] competed in the 100-meter butterfly final and will bring home a silver medal for his home country of Canada.

It was just yesterday that Liendo appeared in his first Olympic Finals of his young career, taking part in the 50-meter freestyle final.

The 21-year-old finished with a time of 21.58 seconds, his fastest ever in the 50-meter freestyle, but it was not enough to make the podium as he finished in fourth by just two-hundredths of a second behind France’s Florent Manaudou (21.56 seconds).

Liendo swam well during the 100-meter butterfly semifinal, finishing in second (50.42 seconds) and securing a spot to compete for a medal in the final.

Looking at his 100-meter butterfly final, Liendo had the gold medal in his sights from the get-go. He was ahead of the pack for most of the race but it wasn’t until the final 10 meters that KristĂłf Milák of Hungary pulled ahead and won it at the last second.

Milák finished with a time of 49.90 seconds while Liendo followed close behind with a final time of 49.99 seconds. Nonetheless, it was a terrific showing from the junior Florida Gator swimmer.

Liendo at the Paris Olympics

Liendo competed in 10 events and appeared in three finals during his Olympic debut, capping it off with a medal under his belt. Going up against the best swimmers in the world, the Canadian certainly proved that he fits right in with this elite group of athletes.

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Dressel misses podium in 50m free, fails to qualify in 100m fly

Disaster struck for Caeleb Dressel on Friday at the Paris Olympics as he missed the podium in one event and failed to qualify for another.

American swimming star and former Florida Gator [autotag]Caeleb Dressel[/autotag] suffered heartbreak twice at the Paris Olympics on Friday as he failed to defend both of his gold medals from Tokyo.

Dressel first raced in the 50-meter freestyle final, in which he placed sixth with a time of 21.61 seconds — slower than his semifinal time of 21.58 seconds.

Then, Dressel missed the cut in the 100-meter butterfly semifinals, placing 13th with a time of 51.57 seconds. Only the top eight advance to the final. Dressel was half a second slower than the eighth-place finisher, Japan’s Naoki Mizunuma.

“Very obviously not my best work,” Dressel said after the race. “Hasn’t been my best week, I don’t need to shy away from that. Yeah, it’s tough, a little heartbreaking.”

It’s been a rough year for the American team overall. The United States have only brought home four golds in swimming through seven days when they typically finish things with 10 or more.

Dressel and the Americans have a chance to end these Paris Games on a positive note, though. The 4×100-meter medley relay begins heats tomorrow, and the United States are looking to defend gold.

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Ledecky sets Olympic record, takes gold in 1500m freestyle

Florida volunteer swim coach Katie Ledecky dominated the 1,500-meter freestyle, earning her first gold medal at the Paris Olympics.

American swimming legend [autotag]Katie Ledecky[/autotag] added an eighth gold medal to her trophy case and set an Olympic record as she placed first in the 1,500-meter freestyle by more than 10 seconds.

Ledecky owns the top 20 times in the event’s history and hasn’t lost the race in 14 years. She broke her own Olympic record by more than five seconds with a 15:30.02 but still came well short of her 2018 world record (15:20.48).

Although she didn’t attend the University of Florida, Ledecky has spent the past three years training for these Olympics in Gainesville as a volunteer coach to the men’s swimming team. Her medals won’t count toward Florida’s total, but she wore a Gators cap at the Olympic Trials, so it’s clear she thinks of the swimming program as home.

Ledecky now has 12 Olympic medals over four Games, tying her with Jenny Thompson for most by an American woman.

She’ll get the chance to break that record later this week in the women’s 800-meter freestyle, which she is also favored to win. Ledecky is also a member of the United States’ 4×200-meter freestyle relay team. She already claimed bronze in the 400-meter freestyle.

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Kieran Smith wins silver as late addition to USA 4×200 Free Relay team

After missing the cut in the 400-meter freestyle, Kieran Smith redeemed himself by medaling as the American 4×200 freestyle relay anchor.

After missing the final cut for the 400-meter freestyle, [autotag]Kieran Smith[/autotag] joined the American 4×200 freestyle relay team and helped win silver for the United States at the Paris Olympics.

Smith swam the anchor leg, posting the second-fastest split overall at 1:44.80. He helped secure silver in a race that was Great Britain’s to lose. The British won with a 6:59.43, followed by the United States at 7:00.78 and Australia at 7:01.98.

Smith didn’t swim in the heats, which took place early on Tuesday. 400-meter free bronze medalist Carson Foster, 200-meter bronze medalist Luke Hobson and Smith joined the team late. Hobson handed off to Foster, who handed off to Drew Kibler, the lone holdover from the heats.

Kibler and Smith were both members of the fourth-place team in Tokyo, adding another layer of redemption to the story.

Florida’s medal count is now up to four. [autotag]Caeleb Dressel[/autotag] won gold in the 4×100 freestyle relay, [autotag]Bobby Finke[/autotag] won silver in the 800-meter freestyle and Emma Weyant won bronze in the 400-meter individual medley — all for Team USA.

Kieran Smith as a Florida Gator

Smith spent four years (2018-22) swimming for the Gators, earning 28 All-American nods, four SEC team championships and two national championships.

He burst onto the scene as a freshman, earning SEC Co-Freshman of the Year honors after winning the 200m individual medley with a swim in 2019. As a sophomore, Smith performed even better, qualifying for the NCAA Championships in the 100m, 200m and 500m freestyle.

Smith won his first NCAA Championship in the 200m freestyle as a junior. He also placed second in the 500m free that year. His second national championship came as a member of the 200m freestyle relay team which set a program record of 1:14.11.

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Florida’s Josh Liendo just misses 100m freestyle final cut at Paris Olympics

Florida swimmer Josh Liendo advanced through heats and nearly made it to the 100-meter freestyle semifinal at the Paris Olympics.

Josh Liendo, a junior the Florida swimming team, placed 11th in the semifinals of the 100-meter freestyle at the Paris Olympics on Tuesday.

Swimming for the Canadian National Team, Liendo finished third in the final of 10 heats with a 48.35. Tied for the 10th-fastest time in heats, Liendo advanced to the semifinals, which is split into two heats.

Liendo posted a slightly faster time of 48.06 in the second semifinal, placing sixth in his heat and 11th overall. Only the top eight advance to the final, with the ninth and tenth fastest swimmers serving as reserves.

This was Liendo’s second Olympic Games. He participated in the 100-meter free during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, finishing 14th in the semifinals, so this is an improvement.

Liendo is participating in a number of events this year for Team Canada. So far, he’s placed sixth in the 4×100 freestyle relay, posting a 47.93-second split — that time would have secured him the eighth and final spot of the 100-meter freestyle.

He is also competing in the 50-meter freestyle, 100-meter butterfly and 4×100-meter medley relay.

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Bobby Finke takes silver at Paris Olympics in 800m Free

An amazing comeback effort from former Florida swimmer Bobby Finke earned him silver in the 800-meter freestyle at the Paris Olympics.

Former Florida swimmer [autotag]Bobby Finke[/autotag] won the silver medal in the 800-meter freestyle at the Paris Olympics on Tuesday, bringing UF’s 2024 medal count up to three.

Finke missed first place by about half a second, finishing with a time of 7:38.75.

Irish gold medalist Daniel Wiffen edged out Finke with a 7:38.19, while Italian Gregorio Paltrinieri earned bronze with a 7:39.38. All three medalists broke the previous Olympic record (7:41.28) but didn’t come close to the world record (7:32.12) set in 2009.

Finke stayed in fourth or fifth place for the first two laps, pushing ahead to the medal range around the 250-meter mark. Known for his closing speed in the final lap, Finke posted the fastest single-lap split of 26.47 seconds to secure silver. It looked like he had a chance at gold, but Wiffen held him off.

There are two approaches to distance races. Some swimmers like to hold out for the end, such as Finke, and others try to establish an early lead, hoping to stave off fatigue.

Australian Elijah Winnington is an example of the latter. He controlled the race’s first half, leading the pack through 350 meters, but dropped to third at 400 meters and spent the last two laps in eighth place.

This is Finke’s third Olympic medal after winning two golds (800m and 1,500m free) in the 2020 Tokyo Games. He will attempt to defend his gold in the 1,500 starting August 3.

Florida’s medal count moves up to three as well. Caeleb Dressel won gold in the 4×100 freestyle relay, and Emma Weyant won bronze in the 400-meter individual medley — both with Team USA.

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Emma Weyant takes home bronze at Paris Olympics in 400m IM

Former Florida swimmer Emma Weyant won bronze for the United States at the Paris Olympics Monday in the 400-meter individual medley.

Florida senior [autotag]Emma Weyant[/autotag] is bringing home a bronze medal from the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The Team USA swimmer finished third in the 400-meter individual medley with a time of 4:34.93, behind Canadian gold medalist Summer McIntosh (4:27.71) and fellow American Katie Grimes (4:33.40).

McIntosh, the world record holder at 17 years old, outpaced the rest of the field for the entirety of the race. She took a one-second lead after the first 100 meters and built on it with each stroke. Grimes was the only serious contender and spent the whole race in second place.

Weyant looked like she’d finish fourth at best, spending most of the first 250 meters in the back half of the field. She sped past Great Britain’s Freya Constance Colbert ahead of the final turn to make it to the podium.

Weyant placed first overall in the heats with a 4:36.27, but it’s clear that McIntosh was saving her best for the final.

It’s Weyant’s second Olympic after winning silver in the same event in Tokyo. She brings Florida’s 2024 medal count up to two — Caeleb Dressel took gold with Team USA in the 4×100 freestyle relay.

Watch the full race on NBC Sports’ YouTube channel.

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Florida sophomore finishes 14th in 100m Back at Paris Olympics

Jonny Marshall set a few personal bests as a freshman swimmer for Florida this year. Here’s how things went for him at the Olympics.

On Sunday, Florida swimmer [autotag]Johnny Marshall[/autotag], representing Great Britain, placed 14th in the 100-meter backstroke at the [autotag]Paris Olympics[/autotag], ending his run at the Summer Games in the semifinals.

Marshall’s 53.46-second finish was almost a full second behind semifinal heat leader Thomas Ceccon of Italy (52.48), and China’s Jiayu Xu blew away all competition with a 52.02 in the second heat. Frenchman Yohann Ndoye-Brouard and South Africa’s Pieter Coetze tied for third at 52.63 — an African record.

Marshall snuck into the semifinal with a 53.93-second finish in the heats, good enough to claim the 16th and final qualifying spot. With that in mind, a 14th-place finish looks nice, but Marshall came into the Olympics hoping to improve on a 53.03-second finish at the 2024 Aquatics GB Swimming Championships.

Still just 19 years old, Marshall is one of Great Britain’s bright young stars in the sport. He’ll look to dominate the SEC over the next three seasons with Florida in preparation for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

Jonny Marshall at the University of Florida

As a freshman in 2023-24, Marshall competed in 30 events over eight different meets/invitationals for the Gators. He won five individual events and finished inside the top three 10 times.

He earned three gold medals at the SEC Championship, which Florida won as a team. He set a new program record to win the 200-yard backstroke, also setting an SEC Meet record.

Marshall earned two All-American honors at the NCAA Championships. He competed in the 100 and 200 Backstroke and was the only freshman to compete in the 100 Back and 200 Back Championship Finals

Prior to his time with Florida, Marshall was a national team member and 2022 Junior European gold medalist in the 400 medley relay — he also won silver in the 50m back and bronze in the 100m back.

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Caeleb Dressel anchors USA 4×100 relay team at Paris Olympics, wins 8th gold

Add another gold medal to the trophy case for UF swimming legend Caeleb Dressel, who anchored the USA 4×100 freestyle relay team that won gold at the Paris Olympics.

Former Florida Gator [autotag]Caeleb Dressel[/autotag] won another gold medal on Saturday as the United States dominated the 4×100-meter freestyle relay.

Dressel anchored the race, swimming the fourth and final leg for his country. He began his lap with a two-second lead thanks to a 46.75-second third leg from Hunter Armstrong. Dressel gave up some time to the Australians and Italy— who won the silver and bronze medals, respectively — but the United States finished at 3:09.28, more than a full second ahead of second place.

“Relays are a little more special to be honest,” Dressel said to the Associated Press. “So doing it with these guys has been awesome. It takes me back to my first gold. It really doesn’t get old. Really special standing on the podium with these guys watching the flag go up. I’m extremely proud of them. It made my job easy.”

“It’s really special. Making the team in front of him and then winning a gold in front of him, just checking little boxes that I never would have thought to create throughout my career,” Dressel said. “So that was a really special one tonight.”

Dressel will defend his Tokyo Olympic golds in the 100-meter butterfly and 50-meter freestyle over the coming days.

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