BOCA RATON, Florida, April 4. ACCORDING to several sources, South Florida Aquatics' head coach Michael Lohberg, 60, has passed away after a lengthy battle with a blood disorder.
Lohberg was first diagnosed with aplastic anemia back in July 2008 as his swimmer Dara Torres was preparing for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Lohberg had lived with the illness since then, as Lohberg was first quoted as saying he might not live through the weekend when he was first diagnosed.
At the end of February, Lohberg was hospitalized after going into cardiac arrest due to complications from his aplastic anemia. As recently as March 29, he had been moved to a facility to rest comfortably and receive around-the-clock care.
Lohberg, a Germany native who was born in Krefeld, Germany, led SSF Bonn to five German National Team titles before leaving the country. He later went on to coach the St. Croix Dolphins in the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Mission Bay Makos in west Boca Raton, before moving on to Coral Springs Swim Team in Florida. Recently, he oversaw Coral Springs' evolution into the South Florida Aquatic Club.
Lohberg, who holds degrees from the University of Cologne in mathematics and Deutsche Sport Hochschule in physiology and physical education, was known as one of the pre-eminent experts in lactate testing.
Lohberg coached at six Olympic Games having qualified swimmers for every Olympics from 1984 to 2008. He had an incredible eight swimmers make the 2008 Beijing Olympics, including five-time Olympian Dara Torres, after having had four of his swimmers make the 2004 Athens Olympics.