Competitor Coach of the Month: Chris Davis

Competitor Coach of the Month is a recurring SwimSwam feature shedding light on a U.S.-based coach who has risen above the competition. As with any item of recognition, Competitor Coach of the Month is a subjective exercise meant to highlight one coach whose work holds noteworthy context – perhaps a coach who was clearly in the limelight, or one whose work fell through the cracks a bit more among other stories. If your favorite coach wasn’t selected, feel free to respectfully recognize them in our comment section.

One of the founders of SwimAtlanta back in 1977, Chris Davis has now been with the team for well over 40 years and continues to lead the club as it continues to churn out elite-level swimmers.

This past August, SwimAtlanta sent 10 swimmers to the U.S. Junior National Championships in Irvine, highlighted by a gold medal victory for Katie Christopherson in the women’s 200 breaststroke, along with other top performances from the likes of Gigi Johnson, Sebastien Sergile, Ben Irwin and Tristan Denbrok.

Although Johnson and Sergile have now moved on to their collegiate careers, attending Stanford and Virginia, respectively, SwimAtlanta’s athletes have continued on with a strong start to the 2022-23 season.

This was on display at Team Greenville’s Great Pumpkin Invite in mid-October, where a number of the team’s swimmers performed well.

Irwin, a Georgia Tech commit, set a new best time in the 200 free (1:38.47) while also putting up some quick swims in the 100 back (48.3) and 200 fly (1:47.3), while Denbrok, who is committed to the hometown Georgia Bulldogs, dropped a lifetime best of 15:25.37 in the 1650 free.

There were also some highlights on the girls’ side, with up-and-coming names such as Penn State commit Morgan Jenny and class of 2024 swimmers Emma Reiser and Ashley Morton all establishing new personal bests of their own.

Davis’ squad added another accolade last week, as SwimAtlanta was named one of 20 USA Swimming Gold Medal Clubs in the 2022-2023 Club Excellence Rankings (ranking 18th). The team was also recognized as one of 10 2023 Podium Clubs, meaning the club has maintained Gold Medal status for four straight years.

About Competitor Swim

Since 1960, Competitor Swim® has been the leader in the production of racing lanes and other swim products for competitions around the world. Competitor lane lines have been used in countless NCAA Championships, as well as 10 of the past 13 Olympic Games. Molded and assembled using U.S. – made components, Competitor lane lines are durable, easy to set up and are sold through distributors and dealers worldwide.

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