Australian backstroke sensation Mitch Larkin is starting a search for a new coach with a different program to lead him through the next Olympic quad. The world champion has trained with Michael Bohl at the St Peters Western club in Brisbane for the last seven years.
At the 2016 Rio Games Larkin finished second in the 200 backstroke and was a member of the bronze medal 4×100 medley relay team. The 23 year old had been expected to be a medal threat in the 100 backstroke, but fell short of the podium.
Larkin revealed that he will try a number of programs over the next few months to ensure that he is finding the best fit. In a statement released today, he explained the reasoning for his decision,
“In order to keep motivation at its highest along with excitement within the training environment, I’ve decided to look at what other programs along with other coaches can offer over the next Olympic cycle.”
He thanked Bohl for his dedication, saying, “Michael has done everything for me in my career and I would not be where I am today or achieved what I have achieved without him.”
Bohl also released a statement and expressed his understanding of his swimmer’s decision. The coach said, “Mitch had been contemplating his swimming for the next four years towards Tokyo (2020 Olympics) and felt he needed to change programs in order to keep stimulated.”
Read more from Yahoo Sports here.
Talk about ingratitude.
He gets Hudson butt kicked @. Rio and he bails on his longtime coach.
Larkin was all smiles last year after Kazan and the ensuing FINA Cup Series.
Anyway, a suggestion. Hop the next Wantss flight to San Francisco and then cross the bridge to the Bear’s Lair in Berkeley. Bet test coach could make him an Ollympic champ. Or mayne Auburn and see what Sergio Looez has to offer.
Hey Bill,
He is off to Bond Uni to swim with McEvoy on the Gold Coast
Should’ve ditched the girlfriend instead. They weren’t good for each other’s in-competition performance.
Much as that would be a convenient “cop-out”, there were too many other more obvious factors ahead of it. Seebohm’s 2015 success was built on the work of the previous couple of years under Matt Brown. When he had to relocate interstate mid 2015, and she found a new coach (Lush); this work still left her in good stead for 2015 Worlds. Sadly, the new regime didn’t involve the level of work done under Brown = she comes back to the field. This became apparent in Rio where she fell apart under pressure.
As for Larkin, Bohl clearly was ‘asleep at the wheel’. Technical issues like “circling his lane” were clearly apparent at AUS Trials but were still in evidence in Rio. Unless you are exponentially better than your competition, you cannot be making these technical errors in Olympic competition and expecting to win. Like most of the QLD coaches, Bohl comes out of Rio with significant question marks over their preparation of their swimmers.