Greg Meehan, Dave Durden to coach U.S. swimmers at Tokyo Olympics
Though almost 600 days remain before the Tokyo Olympics, USA Swimming’s preparations are well underway.
Stanford’s Greg Meehan will coach the women’s team and California’s Dave Durden will coach the men’s team, the organization announced Monday.
“We’re joining a list of coaching legends and it’s not lost of any of us,” Meehan said during a conference call.
The coaches succeed Arizona State’s Bob Bowman and UC San Diego’s David Marsh. They helped U.S. swimmers win 33 medals at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in 2016, including 16 golds.
Swimmers connected to Meehan and Durden combined to win 20 of those medals in Rio de Janeiro. The coaches, both age 42, served as assistants on that team.
Durden has coached the Cal men’s team to three national titles in nine seasons overseeing the program. Meehan has guided the Stanford women’s team to back-to-back national titles in 2017 and 2018.
“I think it’s going to be a combination of some new faces … along with some veteran leadership,” Durden said. “That’s always been a successful mix for us.”
One big name will be missing. Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian of all time, retired after the Rio de Janeiro Games. But plenty of stars remain. They include Katie Ledecky, the five-time Olympic gold medalist who swam for Meehan at Stanford, and former Cal swimmer Ryan Murphy, who owns three Olympic golds.
The U.S. Olympic swimming trials start June 21, 2020, in Omaha, with the Tokyo Games opening July 24, 2020.
Twitter: @nathanfenno
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