Swimming Head Coaches Sinnott and Collins Both Beijing-Bound

[PonyPride]

Swimming Head Coaches Sinnott and Collins Both Beijing-Bound

Sinnott Will Travel with the U.S. Team; Collins Will Coach the Slovakian Team

DALLAS (SMU)-- Most athletes dream of one day competing in the Olympic Games, of representing their countries, of medals adorning their necks. In support of that dream, two SMU coaches will trek to Beijing in hopes of being part of those goals.

Swimming head coaches Steve Collins and Eddie Sinnott each have accepted positions with Olympics-bound teams. Collins will be the head coach of the Slovakian national team for the fourth time, while Sinnott will be an assistant team leader (manager) with the United States team.

The paths the two coaches will take to Beijing will be divergent from one another, but the goals will be the same.

Sinnott leaves the SMU campus June 27 to head to Omaha, Neb. for the U.S. Olympic trials. There, he will watch the best swimmers the U.S. offers, including Mustangs Shane Milu, Brett Denham, Nate Clark, Candace Blackman, Jennifer Blackman, Devon Callaghan, Katie Roberts and Jaime Williamson try to make the cut. The roughly 1200 swimmers expected at the trials are competing for about 46 (up to 23 men's and 23 women's) spots on the Olympic team, hoping to keep their dream alive for a few more months.


From Nebraska, Sinnott, the two other assistant team managers, the coaches and the selected swimmers will head west to Palo Alto, Calif. for a few weeks of training camp.

Sinnott and the U.S. team board will a plane for Singapore on July 24, where they will participate in "acclimation camp." Since Singapore is in the same time zone as Beijing, the U.S. team will have almost two weeks to get used to the massive time change and any altitude changes.

The U.S. team crosses into Beijing Aug. 4 to check in to the Olympic Village, which will serve as the team's home until the end of August. Swimming events begin Aug. 9, the day after the Opening Ceremony.

This will be Sinnott's second Olympic Games, but his first traveling with the U.S. delegation. In 1996, Sinnott traveled with Haiti as the team leader.

"At the time, I thought it was the chance of a lifetime," Sinnott reflected. "But there's nothing more exciting than representing your country. I've done it for the Pan-American Games and the World University Games, and now I'll have the ultimate opportunity to do it at the Olympics."

Sinnott dreamed of one day swimming for the U.S., but never got the chance. A standout swimmer for the Mustangs, Sinnott was the Southwest Conference champion in the 400 IM in 1973 and earned All-America honors in 1973 and 1974.

"I dreamt of that gold medal as a kid," said Sinnott. "There's nothing in the world like it. Now, I get to have a hand in kids achieving their lifelong dreams. I will play a major part in a lot of peoples successes or failures. I'm excited and nervous. This really is the chance of a lifetime."

Collins feels similarly.

"This is an amazing opportunity," Collins said. "In our sport, it's the greatest competition. It's special because it's the Olympic Games and it's all these countries competing together. The World Championships is a great honor, but it doesn't have quite the same status, in part because the Olympics are once every four years instead of every year. This is a great opportunity to coach swimmers I coach every day and help them fulfill their dreams."

The Slovakian Olympic swimming team is much smaller than its American counterpart. Only three swimmers have been selected to compete at the Olympics, including five-time Olympian and former SMU swimmer Martina Moravcova. The Slovakian Olympic Committee may elect to add an additional swimmer or two, based on FINA qualifying B times, but the decision has not yet been made.

Since Collins will be coaching only three or four swimmers, he will have ample time to help his other Mustang swimmers realize their ambitions. Anja Carman (Slovenia), Petra Klosova (Czech Republic), Maroua Mathlouthi (Tunisia) and former SMU stars Flavia Rigamonti (Switzerland) and Sarah Nordenstam (Norway) each will be competing for their countries and Collins will be allowed to serve as an auxiliary coach if they need him.

Collins' journey will begin July 8, when he travels to Slovakia to meet with members of the Olympic Committee. He and the Slovakian team then will travel to Slovenia to train with the Slovenian Olympic team-- including Carman-- July 10-18. The Slovenian team will host an international meet July 19-20, open to Olympic swimmers across Europe. Joining the Slovakian and Slovenian teams for the meet will be Klosova (Czech Republic) and Rigamonti (Switzerland). After the meet, the Slovakian team members will return home to pack for the long voyage east. Collins and his charges will head for acclimation camp in Singapore July 23, where they will train with the Swiss team (including Rigamonti) until they head to Beijing Aug. 5.

"We worked hard to set up a cooperative atmosphere," Collins said. "Having those meets during training is really important to maintain a competitive edge. I'm excited to have the opportunity to work with all the current and former SMU swimmers competing at the Games."

Once Collins gets to Beijing, he and his athletes will check into the Olympic Village, which will serve as home until the end of August. There, he will meet up with Mathlouthi, who will swim for her native Tunisia, and Nordenstam, who will swim for Norway.

"The key was getting credentialed for the Olympic Village," Collins remarked. "That gives me access to the training pool, which means I can be on-hand to help any of my swimmers who need anything, regardless of who they're swimming for."

Both SMU coaches are looking forward to their experiences at the Games, but for slightly different reasons. For Collins, the opportunity represents the chance to continue mentoring one of his star swimmers in Moravcova, and to see the progress that he feels his Mustangs have made through his years as a coach.

"The 1996 Games was the first time I attended the Olympics while actively coaching an athlete," remembered Collins. "My first Olympic medalist was that year, when Marianne Kriel won bronze in the 100 back. Then in 2000, I traveled with the Slovakian team and Martina got the silver in the 200 free and 100 fly, which was very special to see. I had the same situation in 2004, with Martina competing and several other Mustangs swimming. The number of SMU swimmers has grown each time, which is just awesome. Being able to continue coaching Martina into her fifth Olympic Games has just been incredible."

Sinnott, by contrast, has a more future-oriented attitude about his first Games.

"I think [the experience] will be extremely fun and tremendously educational," Sinnott said. "I expect to come back, not as a different person, but the inspiration quotient will go way up. I'll be spending seven weeks with the best swimmers and coaches in the world. The SMU men's swimming and diving program will be enhanced by what I get from this experience. My eyes and ears and mind will be open to learning from the best people in the world. I can't help but think it will help us out here at SMU."

[Otto]

What a cool story.

See? When we have great coaches in Olympic sports, there's nothing wrong with keeping them around.

Congratulations to Coach Sinnott and Coach Collins.

[smu diamond m]

coughmen'strackcough

[SMUguy]

Rumor has it the return of track is being discussed.
Let's hope.