Catherine Vogt, Dave Kelsheimer Named U.S. Open Water Coaches For 2016 Olympics

Photo Courtesy: Daily News of Open Water Swimming

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Catherine Vogt of the University of Southern California and Trojan Swim Club has been named the open water head coach for the 2016 U.S. Olympic Swimming Team.

The announcement was made today by USA Swimming Open Water Program Manager Bryce Elser at the 2015 United States Aquatic Sports Convention at the Marriott Downtown in Kansas City, Missouri.

Joining Vogt and serving as the open water assistant coach in Rio de Janeiro will be Team Santa Monica’s Dave Kelsheimer. The U.S. competitors in the 10-kilometer open water event at the 2016 Olympic Games will be Haley Anderson (Granite Bay, Calif.), Jordan Wilimovsky (Malibu, Calif.) and Sean Ryan (Chattanooga, Tenn.), who each qualified with a top-10 finish in the same event at the 2015 FINA World Championships.

“Our recent success on the international stage, including the overall team title at this year’s World Championships, is a direct result of Catherine’s leadership, knowledge and experience,” Elser said. “With her track record of producing world-class athletes and the ability to work with swimmers from various training backgrounds, Catherine is the right person to lead our team. I am confident Catherine and Dave will do a great job prepping our team for success next summer in Rio.”

A first-time open water head coach for Team USA at the Olympic Games, Vogt brings extensive international experience to the position. As the U.S. open water head coach at the 2015 FINA World Championships in Kazan, Russia, she led Team USA to the open water team world title. There, the U.S. won three medals and posted 11 top-10 finishes throughout the open water competition.

“Representing the United States of America at the 2016 Olympic Games is incredibly special because of the people, the passion and the culture of open water swimming, and I’m truly grateful to the athletes and coaches who have given me their support and encouragement,” Vogt said. “I’m excited about our athletes and believe this group has great potential to succeed at the Games next summer.”

In addition, Vogt served as head coach for the U.S. team at the 2013 and 2009 Open Water World Championships and as the women’s open water coach at the 2014 Pan Pacific Championships. She also guided Team USA as head coach at the 2007 and 2011 Pan American Games.

Vogt has coached Anderson, a two-time Olympic qualifier, to international podium appearances in each of the last four years, including the 2012 London Olympic Games, where she won silver in the 10K.

On the collegiate front, Vogt was recently promoted to head assistant coach at USC. She is in her eighth season with the Trojans and has helped lead the USC men and women to top-eight NCAA finishes in each of the last five seasons. Prior to joining the USC staff in 2008, Vogt worked for three seasons as an assistant coach at the University of North Carolina, where she was standout distance swimmer. The Pinehurst, North Carolina, native is a 2000 graduate of UNC.

Kelsheimer, the CEO and head coach of Team Santa Monica, joins the U.S. Olympic Team staff as an assistant coach for the first time after serving as men’s open water coach for the U.S. at the 2014 Pan Pacific Championships and as an assistant at the 2015 FINA World Championships. He guided the Olympic qualifier Wilimovsky to a breakout season in 2015, which resulted in a gold in the men’s 10K at the FINA World Championships and U.S. national titles in the 10K and 1500-meter freestyle. With Team Santa Monica, Kelsheimer has regularly coached swimmers to USA Swimming National Team and National Junior Team status.

Prior to joining Team Santa Monica in 2011, Kelsheimer had successful head coaching stints with club teams in Australia and the Cayman Islands, where he also served as the Cayman Islands National Coach from 1995-2005 and developed four Olympians.

“I am both humbled and honored to be granted the privilege of joining the U.S. Olympic Team staff as an assistant coach to work with some of the world’s finest elite athletes. This is a remarkable opportunity to learn from great coaches, to share in the dreams of talented and dedicated athletes and to represent my country by coaching the sport I love,” Kelsheimer said.

The coaching nominations are pending the approval of the United States Olympic Committee.

The above article is a press release submitted to Swimming World.

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