Sweetenham resurfaces in Australia

Swimming Australia has appointed Bill Sweetenham as a mentor to it’s top coaches in a move designed to improve their coaching standards and to help reverse a perceived coaching ‘brain drain’ from the world’s number two swimming nation.

Since leaving his post as Britain’s National Performance Director in 2008, Sweetenham has worked with national teams from Singapore and most recently Spain, who he helped to a best ever finish at last year’s World Short Course Championships.

His ability to develop coaches was overshadowed by controversy over this own coaching methods during his time in charge of Britain’s swimmers, but is a skill Australia is looking to capitalise on. Sweetenham will mentor national head coach Leigh Nugent, as well as national youth and paralympic coaches Vince Raleigh and Brendan Keogh as well as being available to assist other top coaches.