Tag: Kieran Smith

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.

Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Florida Gators take home 11 medals at Paris Olympics

The Olympics have come to a close after 16 days of world class competition. Here’s how every Florida Gator performed at the 2024 Paris Games.

The University of Florida sent more than 40 current and former Gators to the Paris Olympics this summer, and the Orange and Blue claimed 11 medals in total — four gold, four silver and three bronze.

American swimming legend [autotag]Caeleb Dressel[/autotag] took home gold in two team events, the 4×100 free relay and 4×100 mixed medley relay. Dressel also claimed silver in the 4×100 medley relay; although, the Americans were favorites to take gold in the event.

Florida’s two other golds came from swimmer [autotag]Bobby Finke[/autotag] in the 1,500-meter freestyle and track star [autotag]Grant Holloway[/autotag] in the 110-meter hurdles. Finke set a world record with a time 14:30.67 while defending his 2020 gold from Tokyo and added a silver in the 800-meter free.

The other silver medals come from the pool as well. [autotag]Josh Liendo[/autotag] finished second in the 100-meter butterfly, swimming for Team Canada, and [autotag]Kieran Smith[/autotag] was a member of the 4×200 relay team that placed second.

[autotag]Emma Weyant[/autotag] earned bronze in the 400-meter individual medley, and [autotag]Jasmine Moore[/autotag] placed third in both the long jump and triple jump.

If the University of Florida were its own country, the Gators would have finished tied for 16th with Sweden, which also ended the Games with four gold, four silver and three bronze medals.

Other Gators Results at the Olympics

Swimming and Diving

  • Caeleb Dressel (USA) — 6th in 50-meter freestyle, 13th in 100-meter butterfly
  • [autotag]Luke Whitlock[/autotag] (USA) — 15th in 900-meter freestyle
  • Julie Brousseau (Canada) — 4th in 4×200-meter freestyle relay
  • Josh Liendo (Canada) — 4th in 50-meter freestyle, 6th in 4×100-meter freestyle relay, 11th in 100-meter freestyle
  • Maha Amer (Egypt) — 24th in women’s 3-meter springboard prelimnaries
  • Nicole Maier (Germany) — 5th in 4×200-meter freestyle relay
  • Amro Al-Wir (Jordan) — 23rd in 200-meter breaststroke
  • Aleksas Savickas (Lithuania) — 19th in 200-meter breaststroke
  • Jonny Marshall (UK) — 14th in 100-meter backstroke
  • Alberto Mestre(Venezuela) — 21st in 50-meter freestyle, 37th in 100-meter freestyle
  • Alfonso Mestre (Venezuela) — 19th in 400-meter freestyle, 29th in 800-meter freestyle

Track and Field

  • [autotag]Anna Hall[/autotag] (USA) — 5th in women’s heptathlon
  • [autotag]Grace Stark[/autotag] (USA) — 5th in women’s 100-meter hurdles
  • [autotag]Parker Valby[/autotag] — 5th in women’s 10,000 meters
  • Genevieve Gregson (Australia) — 24th in women’s marathon
  • Wanya McCoy (Bahamas) — 18th in 200-meter semifinals, 41st in 100-meter heats
  • Lloydricia Cameron (Jamaica) — 8th in Group A in women’s shot put
  • Reheem Hayles (Jamaica) — fifth in men’s 4×400-meter relay
  • Jevaughn Powell (Jamaica) — 13th in men’s 400-meter semifinals
  • Hakim Sani Brown (Japan) — 5th in men’s 4×100-meter relay, 10th in men’s 100 meter
  • [autotag]Joseph Fahbulleh[/autotag](Liberia) — 7th in men’s 200-meter, 7th in men’s 4×100-meter relay
  • Alida van Daalen (Netherlands) — 13th in Group B in women’s shot put
  • Thomas Mardal (Norway) — 11th in men’s hammer throw
  • Eddie Garcia (Virgin Islands) — did not finish marathon

Basketball

  • Canyon Barry (USA) — 7th in men’s 3v3
  • Andrew Nembhard (Canada) — lost in quarterfinals; top 8
  • Nick Calathes (Greece) — lost in quarterfinals; top 8
  • Andrea Vilano (Spain) — lost in quarterfinals; top 8

Golf

  • Alejandro Tosti (Argentina) — tied for 18th in men’s tournament
  • Camilo Villegas (Venezuela) — 57th in men’s tournament
  • Sarah Schober (Austria) — tied for 47th in women’s tournament

Gymnastics

  • [autotag]Leanne Wong[/autotag] (USA) — traveled as a reserve

Soccer

  • Adriana Leon (Canada) — lost in quarterfinals; top 8 in women’s bracket
  • DeAnne Rose (Canada) — lost in quarterfinals; top 8 in women’s bracket

Tennis

  • Danielle Collins (USA) — lost in quarterfinals; top 8 in women’s bracket

Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

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.

Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Kieran Smith’s Olympic hopes crushed in heat stage

After claiming bronze in Tokyo, former Florida Gator Kieran Smith won’t move past heats at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Former Florida Gators swimmer [autotag]Kieran Smith[/autotag] won’t be repeating as a medalist at the 2024 Paris Olympics after failing to qualify for the 400-meter freestyle final on Saturday.

The American finished with the 11th fastest time of the morning, clocking a 3:46.47 and placing sixth in his heat. Only the top eight overall times advance to the final, with two reserves in case of injury.

Smith was the lone medalist from the 2020 Tokyo Games hopeful to repeat coming into the event. Tokyo gold medalist Ahmed Hafnaoui (Tunisia) has been dealing with an injury all summer, and Australian silver medalist Jack McLoughlin retired two years ago.

Fellow American Aaron Shackell placed sixth overall and advanced to the evening’s final.

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.

Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Florida swimming and diving represented by 14 Gators at Paris Olympics

Caeleb Dressel and Bobby Finke headline a pack of 14 Gators in the pool at the Paris Olympics this summer.

A total of 14 Gators swimmers and divers will represent the University of Florida at the Paris Olympics this summer.

Current Florida swimmers competing at the 2024 games are Julie Brousseau, Josh Liendo, Jonny Marshall, Nicole Maier, Aleksas Savickas, Emma Weyant and Luke Whitlock. Former Gators that will be competing are Amro Al-Wir, Maha Amer, [autotag]Caeleb Dressel[/autotag], [autotag]Bobby Finke[/autotag], Alberto Mestre, Alfonso Mestre and [autotag]Kieran Smith[/autotag].

In addition, Florida head coach Anthony Nesty will serve as the U.S. men’s swimming head coach while assistant coach Whitney Hite joins Nesty on staff as an assistant/personal coach for USA Swimming.

Three former Gator swimmers are also present in Paris. Gator Olympic medalist Elizabeth Beisel will help the NBC coverage, while current UF team physician Dr. Katie Edenfield is the team doctor for U.S. Swimming and six-time NCAA champion Julia Gorman is the U.S. open water swimming physical therapist.

[autotag]Katie Ledecky[/autotag], who has been training with the Florida swimming program and has served as a volunteer on the staff, will also be in the City of Lights. She is heading to her fourth Olympic Games after earning a berth in the U.S. Olympic Trials, becoming the ninth U.S. swimmer to qualify at least four times for the sport’s grandest stage.

Florida’s 14 Olympic competitors in pool

Athlete Events Representing Country
Amro Al-Wir 200 Breaststroke Jordan
Maha Amer 3-Meter Springboard Egypt
Julie Brousseau 4×200 Free Relay Canada
Caeleb Dressel 100 Butterfly
50 Freestyle
4×100 Free Relay		 USA
Bobby Finke 800 Freestyle
1500 Freestyle		 USA
Josh Liendo 50 Freestyle
100 Butterfly
100 Freestyle
4×100 Free Relay
4×100 Medley Relay		 Canada
Jonny Marshall 100 Backstroke Great Britain
Nicole Maier 4×200 Free Relay Germany
Aleksas Savickas 200 Breaststroke Lithuania
Alberto Mestre 50 Freestyle
100 Freestyle		 Venezuela
Alfonso Mestre 400 Freestyle
800 Freestyle		 Venezuela
Kieran Smith 400 Freestyle USA
Emma Weyant 400 IM USA
Luke Whitlock 800 Freestyle USA

How to Watch

Pool swimming runs from July 27 through Aug. 4 inside the La Défense Arena. Diving will take place at the Paris Aquatics Centre from July 27 through Aug. 10. Open Water swimming will take place Aug. 8-9 at the Pont Alexandre III venue.

Every day, the NBC broadcast network will provide Olympic fans with live finals coverage of swimming. Additionally, each swimming session will be available on the NBC Olympics website and Peacock.

Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Gators sending all-time high 40 Florida athletes to Paris Olympics

There will be a whole gaggle of Gators competing in Paris these next few weeks.

The University of Florida will have a school-best 40 current Gators and alumni at the 2024 Paris Olympics, which kicks off this week in the City of Lights. The Orange and Blue have the fourth-best showing among college institutions.

Compare the 2024 numbers with the 39 UF representatives at the 2008 Beijing Games and 35 at the Tokyo Games in 2020.

In addition to those 40 competitors, Florida has five coaches also in Paris for the games — one of whom will also be competing. [autotag]Anthony Nesty[/autotag] is the head coach for the US men’s swimming team while Whitney Hite is also on the Team USA swimming staff as an assistant and personal coach.

Nic Petersen is Team USA’s jumps/multis coach for men’s track and field while [autotag]Leanne Wong[/autotag]’s coach Owen Field will assist the USA Gymnastics squad. Rhyne Howard will play for USA Basketball in the 3×3 event.

17 Gators are repeat Olympians

Amro Al-Wir (Jordan 2x), Maha Amer (Egypt 2x), Lloydricia Cameron (Jamaica 2x), [autotag]Caeleb Dressel[/autotag] (U.S. 3x), Joseph Fahnbulleh (Liberia 2x), [autotag]Bobby Finke[/autotag] (U.S. 2x), [autotag]Grant Holloway[/autotag] (U.S. 2x), Genevieve LaCaze Gregson (AUS 4x), Adriana Leon (Canada 2x), Josh Liendo (Canada 2x), Alberto Mestre (Venezuela 2x), Alfonso Mestre (Venezuela 2x), Jasmine Moore (U.S. 2x), Deanne Rose (CAN 3x), Hakim Sani Brown (JAPAN 2x), [autotag]Kieran Smith[/autotag] (U.S. 2x) and Emma Weyant (U.S. 2x).

Gators are representing 21 different countries in Paris

Argentina (1), Austria (1), Australia (1), Bahamas (1), Canada (5), Colombia (1), Egypt (1), Germany (1), Great Britain (1), Greece (1), Jamaica (3), Japan (1), Jordan (1), Liberia (1), Lithuania (1), Netherlands (1), Nigeria (1), Norway (1), United States (14), U.S. Virgin Islands (1) and Venezuela (2).

Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Florida’s Casey Greenberg earns lone Gators women’s diving Olympics berth

The Florida Gators will be well-represented in Paris for the Olympic Games.

Florida’s diving standout [autotag]Casey Greenberg[/autotag] concluded the U.S. Olympic trials with a 495.20 combined-score performance to finish tenth among her fellow countrywomen, earning her a spot on the Paris Olympics team roster.

Greenberg opened the finals session with a 54.60, adding to her 246.30 semifinal score set Friday night. The rising junior followed that up with a 54.00 on her forward 3 1/2 somersault pike to head into the halfway mark with a 354.90 total score.

The Gainesville native’s next two dives scored below 45.00, but she ended her final attempt on a high note. She scored 55.20 on her forward 2 1/2 somersault 1 twist pike to close her trials competition with 495.20 for 10th place.

GATORS COMPETING IN PARIS

  • Maha Amer – Egypt
  • Julie Brousseau – Canada
  • Josh Liendo – Canada
  • Nicole Maier – Germany
  • Jonny Marshall – Great Britain
  • Alfonso Mestre – Venezuela
  • Alberto Mestre – Venezuela
  • Aleksas Savickas – Lithuania
  • [autotag]Caeleb Dressel[/autotag] – USA
  • [autotag]Bobby Finke[/autotag] – USA
  • [autotag]Kieran Smith[/autotag] – USA
  • Emma Weyant – USA
  • Luke Whitlock – USA

Olympics details

Swimming at the 2024 Olympic Games will be held at the Paris La Defense Arena, located in the city of Nanterre. Indoor swimming kicks off July 27 and runs through August 4; in total, 35 medal events will be competed.

The Olympic swimming competition concludes with the men’s and women’s open water (10km marathon swimming) races taking place Aug. 8-9. The full Team USA roster for the Olympic Games Paris 2024 will be confirmed in July.

Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Four Gators medaled on Day 4 of Phillips 66 National Championships

Four members of the Florida swimming team earned medals on the fourth day of the Phillips 66 National Championships on Friday.

Four members of the Florida swimming team earned medals on the fourth day of the Phillips 66 National Championships held in Indianapolis, Indiana, on Friday. Men’s swimmers [autotag]Kieran Smith[/autotag] and [autotag]Jake Mitchell[/autotag] as well as women’s team members [autotag]Katie Ledecky[/autotag] and [autotag]Bella Sims[/autotag], all reached the podium on the penultimate day of competition as the quartet dominated in the 400-meter freestyle event.

Smith and Mitchell secured second and third-place finishes with times of 3:46.11 and 3:46.87, respectively, in the A-finals. Ledecky and Sims one-upped their male counterparts, finishing first and second with times of 4:00.45 and 4:03.25, respectively in the A-finals.

The women’s pair have already earned a bid in the 2023 World Aquatics Championships in Japan while their male counterparts earned a trip to Land of the Rising Sun with their performances on Thursday.

Adam Chaney placed fifth in the 100-meter backstroke, shaving off more than half a second from his prelim time for a finals swim of 53.34, while assistant Coach Annie Lazor posted a sixth-place finish in the 100-meter breaststroke on Friday night in the A-finals, touching the wall in 1:07.77.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5 category=1380]

Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Five Florida swimmers earned medals at Phillips 66 Championships Wednesday

Five Florida swimmers earned medals at the Phillips 66 Championships on Wednesday night as the Gators continue to dominate the water.

Five Florida swimmers earned medals at the Phillips 66 Championships on Wednesday night as the Gators continue to dominate the water at this summer’s latest competition. Caeleb Dressel, Annie Lazor, Katie Ledecky, Bella Sims and Kieran Smith all took home some hardware after putting up superb performances in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Volunteer coach Ledecky earned a silver medal for her 1:55.28 in the women’s 200m freestyle — just .02 away from first — while incoming freshman Sims took home the bronze in the same event with a personal-best 1:56.08 — almost a second better than her previous top mark.

In the men’s 200m free, Smith notched a 1:45.63 time — dropping .47 seconds off his prelim time — to earn silver. The other member of the men’s team to earn a medal was Dressel, who dropped an event-best .44 seconds off his prelim time to swim a 23.35 as he continues his work his way back into Olympian form.

Finally, assistant coach Lazor added to the Gators’ haul with a 2:25.86 finish to earn the bronze in the women’s 200m breaststroke.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5 category=1380]

Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Gators News: Olympics roundup plus Florida golf updates

Asides from the news overseas, there are also a few stories closer to home involving both the men’s and women’s golf teams.

Welcome back from a historic weekend at the Tokyo Olympics, where a pair of Gators made their mark on international athletics immortality — including one who not only broke his own record but ascended into the Pantheon of all-time greats at the summer games. And speaking of great, the University of Florida currently leads all American schools in the overall medal count, holding the lead over the Stanford Cardinals by a healthy margin.

Asides from the news overseas, there are also a few stories closer to home involving both the men’s and women’s golf teams. Here is a look at the latest from the Gator Nation.

[exco_embed id=”e5869bc6-faf6-4b7a-8c06-b5610c96a8fe”]