Bill Furniss Retires As Aquatics GB Head Coach Following 19 Medals Across Three Olympics
Bill Furniss is retiring as Aquatics GB Head Coach after overseeing a five-medal haul in Paris at his fourth Olympic Games in the role.
Furniss will head into retirement as the most successful Head Coach in the history of British Olympic swimming, having led the team to 19 medals over the past three Games.
The 70-year-old’s first stint in the role came at Atlanta 1996 with his final Olympics coming 28 years later in the French capital where Great Britain won an historic gold in the men’s 4×200 free as well as silvers for Ben Proud (50 free), Adam Peaty (100m breaststroke), Duncan Scott (200IM) and Matt Richards (200 free).
That followed the best-ever Olympic performance by a GB team in the pool in Tokyo where they won four golds among eight medals with a WR in the mixed medley relay to boot, five years after one gold and five silvers at Rio 2016.
Furniss’ departure is the second high-profile exit from Aquatics GB with Mel Marshall, who led Peaty into uncharted territory, set to take up a high-performance role at Griffith University in January.
Bill Furniss: Photo Courtesy: British Swimming
Furniss was appointed head coach in February 2013 alongside performance director Chris Spice. The team won one medal in the pool at the World Championships in Barcelona later that year courtesy of Fran Halsall’s 50 free bronze.
However, since then, the team have been on a steep trajectory, recording their best-ever returns at world and European Championship level.
The likes of Peaty, Duncan Scott, Jazz Carlin, James Guy, Siobhan O’Connor, Proud, Tom Dean, Luke Greenbank and Anna Hopkin have gone on to achieve multiple podium successes across the sport’s biggest stages.
That followed on from his legacy as Head Coach of Nottinghamshire-based club Nova Centurion, where he coached Rebecca Adlington to two historic Olympic golds in the 400 and 800 free at Beijing 2008, as well as bronzes in the same events at London 2012.
Furniss was awarded an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List in 2017 for his services to swimming and he leaves the elite arena after almost half a century in the sport.
He said:
“After nearly 50 years of involvement in this great sport, it is now the right time for me to retire and spend more time with my family. The job is an all-consuming one, but one that I have loved – it is a privilege to have worked with so many dedicated athletes, and to work so closely with a great number of driven, world-class coaches and support staff as well.
“I have enjoyed a close working relationship with our Performance Director, Chris Spice, throughout the past decade, to bring about a change of culture and belief of achievement on the world stage. That is something I am immensely proud of.
“While the time is right for me to step away personally, it is also the right time for Aquatics GB. A new Head Coach will have the full Olympic cycle to build towards LA 2028. I feel the sport in this country is in a strong position, and I will enjoy watching future successes across upcoming World Championships and European Championships, and then into the Olympic pool in LA.”
Paying tribute to the impact of Furniss on Aquatics GB swimming, both as Head Coach and through his near five decades involved in swimming, Spice said:
Rebecca Adlington: Photo Courtesy: Patrick B. Kraemer ©
“It is hard to sum up the impact that Bill has had on the sport in this country – but it is safe to say he has been influential in the unprecedented achievements our athletes have secured in Olympic and World Championship pools over recent years.
“Bill’s ability to work with each athlete and coach on an individual level is unmatched, and it shows not only in the results in the pool, but in the cohesive culture that has become a central part of our swimming team in the last decade.
“While we have seen plenty of our athletes become multiple Olympic and world champions, forge consistently world-class relay combinations and play their part in memorable racing year in and year out, we have also seen plenty more become much more comfortable and ambitious within the biggest and most intense arenas our sport has to offer, and that is in no small part down to Bill and his work with our incredible coaching staff as well.
“We must also acknowledge his ground-breaking work with Becky Adlington leading into and beyond Beijing 2008, when she became Britain’s first double Olympic champion in the pool for a century, which helped redefine what Team GB could do in the Olympic pool.
“We will miss Bill on poolside, with his direct and performance-focused approach, both at major events but also across our Performance Centres and other training environments, working on a daily basis with athletes and coaches to make sure they are well catered for and in the best position to perform. Our programme owes a large debt to Bill’s leadership and we have a responsibility to build on his legacy as we move towards LA and beyond. For now, we say a big thank you and wish him well in his next chapter.”
Enjoy your retirement!!