USA Swimming has announced Bruce Gemmell as the new head coach for the American boy’s team for the 2017 World Junior Championships. Gemmell replaces Jason Turcotte, who passed away unexpectedly on the weekend of May 7th while coaching at the Atlanta stop of the Arena Pro Swim Series.
Gemmell is most recently known as the coach of Katie Ledecky, whom he coached in the period between the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games. That culminated in 5 medals – 4 golds, and 1 silver – at the Rio Olympics, plus 9 World Championships in 2013 and 2015 combined. He has also coached his son, Andrew Gemmell, onto the pool team at the 2012 Olympic Games (though he’s more lately known as an open water swimmer). Bruce Gemmell is currently the head site coach of the Georgetown Prep location with the Nation’s Capital mega-team.
Gemmell is a three-time American Swimming Coaches Association Coach of the Year honoree (2013, 2014, 2015) and three-time Golden Goggle Awards winner for Coach of the Year (2013, 2014, 2015).
Kate Lundsten from the Aquajets team in Minnesota was named the head coach of the girls’ team in November alongside Turcotte, and remains as such.
The remainder of the staffs and the roster “will be announced in the near future,” according to USA Swimming. 7 members of the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team competed at the equivalent 2013 World Junior Championships, marking this meet as a forebear of future success. The meet will be held from August 23rd-27th in Indianapolis, USA, which took over hosting duties after Budapest was bumped to the host of the senior World Championships.
Good Man. You go Bruce.