John Klinge Named Purdue’s Women’s Swimming & Diving Head Coach

WEST LAFAYETTE, Indiana, June 4. PURDUE Athletics Director Morgan J. Burke today announced the hiring of John Klinge as the Boilermakers' women's swimming and diving head coach following an extensive national search. Klinge will assume his new responsibilities July 1.

"This is a great opportunity for my family and me," Klinge said. "It's awesome to be able to come back and coach at my alma mater."

"With (former head coach) Cathy (Wright-Eger) finishing her relay leg, John, as a former Boilermaker swimmer, is eager to hit the water and lead our women's program," Burke said. "His plans are solid, and we are confident, given his background, that he will be a tremendous leader and coach for the young women on his team."

Klinge's background includes time spent serving his country with the United States Marine Corp in addition to coaching stops at the collegiate, club and high school coaching levels. This unique resume builder helped boost his appeal among the athletics department administrators.

"John's successful leadership experience with the U.S. Marines, combined with the coaching success he has enjoyed to date, and the respect he has been shown by his peers helped him rise to the top of the candidate list," Burke said.

"John brings tremendous leadership, integrity, character and high standards to our Purdue family," added sport administrator Terry Kix, who oversees swimming and diving. "His experiences coupled with his high intensity training methods will enhance our student-athletes abilities to grow. We would also like to welcome John and his family back to Purdue as he is clearly a great fit."

Klinge is only the seventh head coach in the 38-year history of the program and the first male since Fred Kahms was at the helm from 1981 through 1985. Klinge replaces Wright-Eger, who stepped down earlier this spring to accept an academic advisor position within the university's Department of Intercollegiate Athletics.

"I can't say enough good things about Cathy," Klinge said. "She truly cares about the women in our program and I know she will continue to be Purdue swimming's greatest supporter."

Wright-Eger, Purdue's head coach for 21 seasons, is thrilled to see what Klinge can accomplish with her former team.

"I'm so excited and honored to have John as our next Purdue coach," she said. "He represents everything we were looking for in a coach."

In an email directed to her former student-athletes, Wright-Eger added, "John is a very personable coach, communicates extremely well, and will care about you as a person, a student and an athlete."

She also shared his vision for success at Purdue, which is, "To establish and ensure an environment where motivated and talented student-athletes strive for excellence in swimming and diving and in the classroom, and work together to consistently challenge for Big Ten and NCAA championships."

One student-athlete who immediately accepted Klinge's messages and goals is Leah Henninger. Only a junior, Henninger has quickly become a team leader and will serve as co-captain of next year's roster along with classmate Christine Inman.

"John's a motivated, positive and goal-oriented individual, and he was my No. 1 pick after the completion of the athlete interview process," said Henninger. "I know Coach Klinge will take our program to new heights, and we're very fortunate to have him as a member of the Boilermaker family."

There are 25 more swimmers and divers in addition to Henninger that Klinge will have to acquaint himself with as the season draws closer. He says he's looking forward to getting to know every single one of them.

"One of my first priorities is to get to know the team and then start to establish some very high goals for the upcoming season," he said. "I think it's going to be fun to work with the team and start to create a new and ambitious vision for the program together."

Klinge, a native of Richmond, Ind., graduated from Purdue in 1994 with a bachelor of science degree in civil engineering. He returns to his home state after spending the last five years as an assistant to men's head coach Bill Wadley at Ohio State.

Klinge was promoted to associate head coach in May, shortly after the Buckeyes posted their second straight top-20 showing at the NCAA Championships. The Scarlet and Gray were 12th in 2007 and 16th in 2008.

This year's Buckeye squad finished 13th overall in the national dual meet rankings and broke a total of 10 school records before sending 11 student-athletes to the NCAA Championships. Senior sprinter Matt Voelker placed 15th in the 50 freestyle to capture honorable mention All-America honors and was part of three Ohio State relay teams (800 free, 200 and 400 medley relay) that finished in the top 16 to earn honorable mention All-America accolades.

Currently, 18 of Klinge's former Buckeye swimmers are preparing for the Olympic Trials, which begin June 30 in Omaha, Neb. Sophomore George Markovic and freshman Itai Chammah already have secured spots on the Serbian and Israeli national teams, respectively.

While at Purdue, Klinge qualified for the 1992 United States Olympic Trials and went on to place 15th in the 200 backstroke. The former team captain also earned United States Swimming All-America honors in 1991 for placing fifth in the 100 back and was awarded All-Big Ten honors in both 1990 and 1994.

Klinge left Purdue as its second-fastest swimmer in four events: 100 and 200 backstroke, 200 and 400 individual medley, and as the Lambert Pool record holder in the 200 back (1:49.68) and 200 IM (1:51.47).

More than 14 years later, Klinge's lifetime bests in the 200 back (1:46.36) and 400 IM (3:54.82) still hold up among the five-fastest times in Boilermaker history even though Purdue moved into a much faster and improved facility at the start of this decade.

Klinge made an immediate transition into coaching following his senior year, serving as an undergraduate assistant coach to Purdue men's head coach Dan Ross for the 1994-95 season.

"I'm proud and very excited to have John re-join the Purdue swimming and diving program," Ross said. "His life experiences, knowledge and love for Purdue, along with an incredible work ethic, will equate to great success for our women's swimming and diving team for years to come."

Klinge joined the Buckeyes after serving as the head coach at both Bozeman High School and Bozeman Barracuda Swim Club in Bozeman, Mont. During his tenure at Bozeman, Klinge coached multiple National Age Group Top 16, Junior National, United States Open and high school All-America swimmers. Klinge also is well trained in teaching proper employment of drills and stroke technique.

Klinge is a commissioned officer for the United States Marine Corp. He has received two Navy and Marine Corp Achievement Medals for various outstanding performances.

Klinge is married to the former Chris Anderson, who also swam for Purdue University and is currently a coach of Dublin Swim Club. They have two sons, Jack (5) and Matthew (2).

"We've loved our time at Ohio State as part of the Buckeye Swimming Program," Klinge said. "I can't thank Coach Wadley enough for his guidance over the last four years, and I couldn't ask to have worked with a nicer group of young men. It's hard not to get involved in all of the Buckeye traditions, but our family ties to Purdue are very strong. My wife's father went to Purdue as did her two brothers, so we can't be more excited to return to West Lafayette."

Special thanks to Purdue for contributing this report.

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