CALGARY – Three of the country’s best swimming coaches were recognized for their contributions to the sport at the Canadian Swimming Congress on Friday in Calgary.
Greg Arkhurst was named 2024 Canadian Coach of the Year – Olympic Program, Haley Bennett-Osborne Canadian Coach of the Year 2024 – Paralympic program and Carl Simonson Canadian Junior Coach of the Year 2024.
Bennett-Osborne, head coach of the Catalina Swim Club in Red Deer, Alberta, coached her brother Nicholas Bennett, who won two gold medals and a silver medal at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.
“As a swimmer, I’m proud of her, but I’m even more proud of her as a brother. She deserved it her whole life. She put her life on hold for me at times, but she also embodied everything that is great about the sport and totally deserves it,” Nicholas said.
Growing up with Nicholas and spending the last two years coaching him full-time has helped Bennett-Osborne better understand para-athletes. She believes that to train an athlete, a coach must first know them like a person.
Originally from Parksville, British Columbia, Bennett-Osborne was a competitive swimmer for ten years. Even before his retirement, Bennett-Osborne did some coaching, which came naturally to him. She loved the thrill of coaching and working with people.
Bennett-Osborne began coaching at Ravensong Aquatic Club in Qualicum Beach, British Columbia, in 2016 and worked her way up to become the club’s head coach. She moved to the Catalina club last September. Paris was her first Paralympic Games after having coached at the last two World Para Swimming Championships.
“I think (moving to Red Deer) would have been the right decision even if things hadn’t gone the way we wanted, but I think this confirms that it was the right decision to move,” Haley said , who reoriented Nicholas towards more medley training in preparation for the Paralympic Games.
“I’m happy that he feels like I played an important role in his journey, but I also want him to recognize that that’s what he did, not what I did . If I helped, that’s great, but I also don’t want him to feel like he owes me anything.”
Arkhurst, head coach of CAMO in Montreal, coached Mary-Sophie Harvey to a fourth-place finish in the 200m freestyle at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, as well as in several key performances at the relay level. The two-time Olympic swimmer, who was born in Ivory Coast, is the first black coach named to the Swimming Canada Olympic team staff.
Arkhurst obtained his coaching diploma in France, then emigrated to Montreal in 2001 where he met Claude St-Jean, the former head coach of CAMO. He swam for Ivory Coast at the 2000 and 2004 Olympics, then retired after the 2005 FINA World Championships in Montreal.
He began coaching at Blue Machine Natation in Saint-Lambert, Quebec, and returned to CAMO in 2009. He took over as team leader in 2021 and competed in four world championships before being named as coach at his first Olympic Games.
Harvey, competing in her second Olympics, says Arkhurst reignited her career. She posted her best-ever times in the 100m butterfly and 200m freestyle at the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Trials, presented by Bell. In Paris, she became the first Quebec swimmer to be a finalist at the Olympic Games in 28 years and lowered her time in the 200 freestyle, giving her fourth place.
“He’s really passionate about swimming and that makes getting up at 4 a.m. easy,” Harvey said. “He was one of the first coaches to believe in my potential and to make me believe that I could accomplish great things. »
Arkhurst believes that good communication with an athlete is essential. It ensures that training does not become repetitive and monotonous.
Harvey explained that the duo’s preparation for 2024 included “a game to prepare myself for any scenario.” She notably purposely swam a race with water in her goggles.
“I was always on edge before a race, but it was really good training and gave me a lot of confidence,” said Harvey, who also won a record seven medals at the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games. times among Canadian swimmers, tied with Maggie Mac Neil.
The group Arkhurst coached in Paris also included Jeremy Bagshaw, a 32-year-old veteran of the Canadian team who was competing in his first Olympic Games, Penny Oleksiak, a seven-time Olympic medalist, and Patrick Hussey, 23, who was competing in his first Olympic Games.
Simonson is the assistant head coach of the University of Calgary Swim Club. He coaches Aiden Norman, who won gold medals in the 100m and 200m backstroke at the 2024 Junior Pan Pacific Championships in Canberra, Australia.
“It’s always nice to be recognized, but it’s really the athletes’ accomplishments that allow me to be in the spotlight a little bit,” said Simonson, who was pleased with Norman’s progress, from the 2022 Junior Pan American Games, to this year’s breakthrough, to the 2023 Junior World Championships.
“We basically went 36 months without a real break,” Simonson said. If you have a good relationship of trust, I think you can do great things. »
Norman, one of four UCSC swimmers on the team, also contributed to four relay medals in Canberra.
“We talked about his role as a leader, because he had already played that role as a member of the team. The third time, I said, “This is the time for you to step up and be a leader, to guide the relays and play this role.” I’m very proud that he stood up and was that kind of person,” said Simonson, who was cheering from afar after serving on the national development team staff for the past two years. . »
Simonson previously coached Lorne Wigginton, a Calgary native who was selected to the Paris Olympic team and competed in the 2023 and 2024 World Aquatics championships.
Simonson has been coaching in Alberta since 1992. Prior to joining UCSC, he was head age group coach of the Edmonton Keyano Swim Club and head coach of the Olympian Swim Club, where he took teams to national championship titles. juniors and Western Canadian champions. He was also the head coach of Team Alberta at the 2009 Canada Games.
