Maggie MacNeil Calls On Swimming Canada To Bring Coach Rick Bishop To Paris

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Defending Olympic champion Maggie MacNeil has called on Swimming Canada to allow her coach to be added to the Canadian staff for Paris despite it being against the current restrictions.

MacNeil, 24, is coached by LSU’s Rick Bishop, an American, and Swimming Canada rules require coaches to live and work in Canada in order to be named to the national coaching staff.

Last year, Summer McIntosh‘s coach, American Brent Arckey, was named to the Canadian staff at the 2023 World Championships as a “personal support professional,” and he’s expected to be added again with McIntosh arguably the country’s biggest star (in any sport) heading to Paris.

The addition of Arckey to the staff last year was a move outside of the norm, and now MacNeil is looking for the same exception to be made for Bishop.

The Toronto Star reported Wednesday that MacNeil’s primary hope for Bishop to be in Paris was for him to be added to the coaching staff for the Hong Kong team, having served on their national staff at the Tokyo Olympics while coaching Siobhan Haughey.

However, MacNeil sent a Tweet out on Thursday indicating that Bishop would not be in Paris for Hong Kong, and thus put the onus on Swimming Canada to bring him in support of her pursuit of a successful Olympic title defense.

As Canada’s defending Olympic gold medalist in the pool, I have just learned that my USA coach will not be in Paris at all coaching any other country. I trust that Swim Canada will see the urgency of this and support me in ensuring that my coach be along to support me as well! ☺️ https://t.co/KK3Fl8w1aP

— Maggie Mac Neil, OLY (@mags_swims26) May 16, 2024

Other Canadian swimmers who train abroad, such as Kylie Masse (Spain) and Sydney Pickrem (Texas A&M), are expected to have their coaches in Paris as members of the Spanish (Ben Titley) and Mexican (Jason Calanog) teams, and Taylor Ruck (Arizona State) is hoping to see Herbie Behm on the American staff.

However, with so many top swimmers training outside of the country, there’s a growing sentiment that the rules should be amended to catch up to where the sport’s evolved.

“Brent being there with Summer is definitely a great step in the right direction,” Pickrem told The Toronto Star. “She’s our top athlete, but we’ve had top athletes before and they didn’t necessarily look at it that way.”

MacNeil said she’s had trouble in the past getting Bishop to be named to the Canadian staff.

“I see where (the rules) come from — it’s rooted in history — but I think when you change the precedent for one coach, I don’t see why you can’t change it for everyone else,” MacNeil said. “Things are changing rapidly in the swimming world, and I don’t think it would hurt to look at things we could change as well.”

Swimming Canada High Performance Director John Atkinson was asked about the amendments made for McIntosh last summer, and noted that she’s doing unprecedented things in the sport that made an exception like allowing Arckey on staff to happen.

“Things evolve, and it was the first time that we’ve done that,” Atkinson told The Toronto Star. “Doesn’t mean that it will always be done or we wouldn’t do it for anybody else in the future.”

“She’s trying to do things that not many athletes have tried to do in the history of the sport. With that, you have to leave no stone unturned.”

MacNeil punched her ticket to a second Olympic Games on the opening night of competition in the women’s 100 fly, and only has one more race on her schedule, the 100 free, which takes place Friday.