Paul Bergen Making Return to Canada

Ottawa, Ontario, September 1. SWIMMING Canada announced today the hiring of world renown swim coach Paul Bergen as Head Coach of the Montreal based National Training Center.

“We are very excited that Paul Bergen and his family (will) return to Canada” said Pierre Lafontaine, CEO and National Coach of Swimming Canada. “Paul’s leaderships and coaching skills will be valuable in supporting our striving swimmers as we move forward” adds Lafontaine.

“Under (the) new leadership of Pierre Lafontaine at the national level and the continued leadership of Alain Lefebvre in Quebec, I sense a revival of enthusiasm in Canadian swimming in which I had been privileged to be part of (from) 1984-1988,” Bergen said. “When you combine this renewed sense of enthusiasm with the fine performances demonstrated over the past couple of years, it leads me to believe that Canadian Swimming is committed to getting to the next level of international competition.”

Bergen will take on the role of Head Coach of the Montreal National Training Center and work directly with the coaching staff in planning the training and competition programs for selected National Center athletes. Furthermore, Bergen will provide outreach coaching services to selected high-performance swimmers in clubs throughout Ontario, Quebec and the Atlantic Provinces in conjunction with personal coaches.

“I am looking forward to returning to Canadian Swimming especially in a role where I have the opportunity be able to help Canada’s developing coaches,” Bergen said. “In this new position I would like to share the experience I have gained over my 40+ years of coaching to the effort of getting Canadian swimmers to the podium in Beijing.”

Throughout his career, Bergen has brought out the best in elite swimmers. From 1982 to 1988, Bergen led the successful Etobicoke Swim Club in Ontario to 13 national titles. Bergen coached young swimmer Alison Higson, who set the 200 breaststroke world record at the Canadian Olympic Trials in 1988. He’s also coached multi-Olympic champ Inge deBruijn.

Bergen is a four-time Olympic and World Championship Coach who was inducted in the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1998. Paul’s swimmers produced 21 world records, 24 American records and 13 Canadian records. In 1986, Bergen was named Canadian Swim Coach of the Year.

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