Canadian Brad Dingey Hired by Singapore Swimming Association

Canadian Brad Dingey Hired by Singapore Swimming Association

Canadian Brad Dingey has been hired by the Singapore Swimming Association to head its National Training Centre.

Dingey took over the position formally on Sept. 1 for a two-year term. He replaces Gary Tan, who left the NTC to take over the Singapore national team in January.

Dingey, 52, was most recently the head coach of Swimming Canada’s High Performance Centre-Vancouver, a position he left in January. He was hired from a field of nearly 20 candidates and will be assisted by Gustavo Schirru and Alex Mordvincev. Dingey joined HPC-Vancouver in 2020 after the closing of HPC-Victoria, which he had headed.

“Everybody’s goal is to have success that is repeatable and reliable,” Dingey told The Straits Times. “We definitely have got work to do, but there is a path here and it can be done by people here in Singapore.”

Singapore swimming appears to be at an inflection point. It’s unknown if Joseph Schooling, the nation’s first Olympic gold medalist and first Olympic swimming medalist in 2016, will ever swim internationally again. He struggled at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and was recently suspended for admitting use of cannabis. Amanda Lim, another veteran, was also sanctioned.

The nation has cultivated other talents, though, like Teong Tzen Wei, who won a silver medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, and American collegian Quah Ting Wen. Dingey is emphasizing the replicability, behind the generational talent that Schooling is.

Dingey is charged with preparing a new crop of swimmers for a busy 2023 that includes the Asian Games, SEA Games and an Asian-based FINA World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, while also laying the groundwork for the next two Olympic cycles. He also is the conduit between the NTC system, launched in 2015 at the OCBC Aquatic Centre and adding a second location led by Doug Djang at the Singapore Sports School in 2022, and clubs in the country.

“From the perspective of high performance, we want swimmers to really fight for that (major meets) spot all the time,” Dingey said, “and the best way is to continue developing really good athletes to provide that upward push and try to take those spots away from people.”

“We are committed to ensure our NTCs are in the best possible position to support our athletes and programmes toward the Olympic Games in 2024 and 2028,” Tan said. “Brad brings a proven track record of success and expertise in developing high performance swimmers.”

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