After they once again led their protégés to the top of world championship podiums, Swimming Canada’s Coaches of the Year for 2019 are Linda Kiefer and Mike Thompson for their work with the Olympic and Paralympic programs.
Kiefer, the long-time assistant head coach at the University of Toronto, was honoured for the third straight year.
Earlier this week, U of T backstroke specialist Kylie Masse, the first Canadian to win back-to-back FINA World Championships gold medals, was named the country’s best female swimmer for the third consecutive campaign.
“It’s nice to be recognized. But this is a shared award for both Byron (Macdonald, U of T head coach) and myself,” said Kiefer. “It was a very good year. Certainly, Kylie getting her hand on the wall for that gold medal in the 100-m back at worlds, that was amazing.”
At the 2019 FINA World Championships in Gwangju, South Korea, in August, Masse not only defended her 100-m title, she also added bronze in the 200-m backstroke and helped the women’s 4×100-m medley relay finish third.
“She was (tied for fourth) I think at the turn in the 100 back. She had an awesome last five metres. Her touch is amazing,” said Kiefer. “It has been an amazing ride with Kylie so far. The fact that since 2016, when she claimed Olympic bronze, she has always been in the top three in the world in the 100 back is pretty special. Not a lot of swimmers stay in that place year after year.”
While Masse was the one making international headlines, Kiefer was delighted with the achievements of the U of T program as a whole over the past season.
“We had seven swimmers on the FISU Games team last summer, two on the junior national team, and we have one girl on the Estonian national team who went to worlds as well. Add another 35 or so varsity athletes, keeps us busy.”
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