{"id":615154,"date":"2025-06-17T11:45:27","date_gmt":"2025-06-17T18:45:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=615154"},"modified":"2025-06-17T11:45:27","modified_gmt":"2025-06-17T18:45:27","slug":"ed-gurka-retires-after-49-seasons-leading-william-paterson-swimming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/ed-gurka-retires-after-49-seasons-leading-william-paterson-swimming\/","title":{"rendered":"Ed Gurka Retires after 49 Seasons Leading William Paterson Swimming"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ed Gurka Retires after 49 Seasons Leading William Paterson Swimming<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ed Gurka,<\/strong> who led William Paterson University swimming and diving for 49 seasons, announced his retirement on Monday.<\/p>\n

Gurka took over the Pioneers, located in northern New Jersey, in 1976. He posted an 861-448-4 record in dual meets, with 413 wins in men\u2019s competition and 448 among the men.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has been an honor and a privilege to be the head coach at William Paterson University for 49 years,\u201d Gurka said in a press release<\/a>. \u201cI have had the honor to work with all-Americans, conference champions, national record holders, conference record holders, and team record holders. I brought teams to train in the winter training trip to Trinidad and Tobago, Curacao, Barbados, Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Florida, Aruba, Bermuda and Hawaii. This was a tremendous experience for me and our swimmers who have made lifelong memories and lifelong friends. I consider myself one of the luckiest people in the world to have worked at William Paterson College\/University.\u201d<\/p>\n