Deryk Snelling
ISHOF Inductee - 1993
BC Sports Hall of Fame Inductee - 2006
ISHOF TEXT:
FOR THE RECORD: OLYMPIC COACH: 1972-1992, placed 57 swimmers on Olympic teams, 19 Olympic medals; WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: 50 swimmers, 10 medals,; PAN AMERICAN GAMES: 34 swimmers, 38 medals; COMMONWEALTH GAMES: 53 swimmers, 65 medals; PAN PACIFIC GAMES: 22 swimmers, 27 medals; WORLD RECORDS: 6; CANADIAN NATIONAL TITLES: 72 team championships, 417 individual and relay titles; UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY: Swim Club Head Coach 1980-1993, Varsity Club 1980-1993; CANADIAN DOLPHIN SWIM CLUB: Head Coach 1967-1976; ETOBICOKE SWIM CLUB: 1976-1980.
Born in Darwin, England, Deryk Snelling took his beginning as a British national swimmer and English champion to develop into one of swimming's most successful coaches.
From 1962 at the Southampton Swimming Club in England to the current University of Calgary Swim Club in Canada, Deryk has placed 57 swimmers on Olympic teams, nineteen of them earning Olympic medals. Fifty of his swimmers have swum on World Championship teams, ten earning medals, and 53 swimmers winning 65 Commonwealth Games medals. His swimmers have set six world records and 72 of his teams have won Canadian National Team Championship titles with 417 individual and relay national titles going to his swimmers.
Snelling is known as the individual medley coach and his book, All About Individual Medley, stresses the importance of training all four swimming strokes. His world-ranked swimmers fill all four stroke events. Leslie Cliff won the 1972 Olympic silver medal in the 400-meter I.M., Bruce Robertson took the 1972 butterfly silver medal behind Mark Spitz and, 20 years later, Mark Tewksbury won the gold medal in yet another stroke at the 1992 Olympic Games, winning the 100-meter backstroke. Along with Mark, Snelling also coached backstroke world record holder Wendy Cooke.
Since 1970, Snelling has been the Canadian Olympic coach six times, serving as head coach at four of those Games. He has been coach of five Commonwealth teams and one World Championship team.
He has encouraged many of his swimmers to take up coaching. Among his proudest, his former swimmer David Haller, named British Olympic Coach and British Coach-of-the-Year.
During Snelling's tenure at the Canadian Dolphin Swim Club, Etobicoke Swim Club, the Calgary Swim Club and the University of Calgary Swim Club, Deryk has been the Canadian Swim-Coach-of-the-Year four times, C.I.A.U.--University Coach-of-the-Year five times and is a recipient of the prestigious Order of Canada Award.
In addition to his coaching duties, he has been a featured guest at numerous clinics and symposiums across the world. Deryk Snelling's dual British and Canadian citizenship has produced dual successes in his swimmers--great athletes and great citizens.
SNC TEXT:
QUICK FACTSCategory: Coach
Name: Deryk Snelling
Swimmer: Mark Tewksbury HIGHLIGHTS1992 Olympic Games, Barcelona, Spain: Head Coach
Coach for Mark Tewksbury Gold Medalist
100m Backstroke (WR)
Olympic Games Coach: 1972, 1976, 1980,
1984, 1988, 1992, 1996 |  |
BIOGRAPHY
Generally regarded as one of the greatest coaches ever in international swimming, from 1967-1975 Snelling built the Canadian Dolphin Swim Club based out of Vancouver into arguably the strongest on the continent.
Beginning in 1972, Snelling represented Canada at seven consecutive Olympic Games, serving as the national team’s head coach in Montreal, Moscow, Los Angeles and Barcelona. Throughout the course of his career, Snelling guided a total of 60 swimmers to the Olympic Games, with 21 reaching the podium. Among some of the prominent Canadian swimmers Snelling coached include Olympic gold medalist Mark Tewksbury.
SPECIAL ACHEIVEMENTS
– 10 World Championship medals
– 38 Pan American medals
– 65 Commonwealth medals
– 27 Pan Pacific medals
– 7 World Records and have won
– 69 Canadian National Team Championship titles including
– 400 Individual and Relay Canadian National Titles during his coaching career while living in Canada.
– author of “All About Individual Medley” which stresses the importance of training all four swimming strokes.
COACHING HIGHLIGHTS
Head Coach – Calgary Team Corel,
Head Coach – University of Calgary Swim Club
Head Coach – University of Calgary Varsity Club
Head Coach – Etobicoke Swim Club
Head Coach – Canadian Dolphin Swim Club
High Performance Director, Amateur Swimming Federation of Great Britain in 1966.
Head coach of the Canadian Olympic team four times
Head coach of Commonwealth Games team five times
Head Coach of one World Championship Team
1972 Munich Olympic Games – Head Coach
1973 World Aquatic Championships, Belgrade Yugoslavia – Coach
1974 Commonwealth Games, Christchurch New Zealand – Coach
1975 World Aquatic Championships, Cali Columbia – Coach
1976 Montréal Olympic Games – Head Coach
1980 Moscow Olympic Games – Head Coach Women’s Team *Canada Boycotted Games
1988 Seoul Olympics – Coach
1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games – Head Coach Men’s Team
1986 Commonwealth Games, Edinburgh Scotland – Head Coach
1987 Pan Pacific Championships, Brisbane Australia – Coach
1990 Commonwealth Games, Auckland New Zealand – Coach
1991 World Aquatic Championships, Perth Australia – Head Coach
1992 Barcelona Olympic Games – Head Coach
1994 Commonwealth Games, Victoria BC – Coach
1994 World Aquatic Championships, Rome – Coach
1995 Pan American Games, Mar Del Plata Argentina – Performance Coach
1995 World Short Course Championships, Rio de Janeiro Brazil – Coach
1996 Atlanta Olympic Games – Coach
2002 Commonwealth Games, Manchester England – Personal Coach
AWARDS
– Canadian Swim Coach of the Year in 1987, 1988 & 1992
– CIAU Coach of the Year from 1982-1988
– 3M Coaching Canada Award in 1990
– Order of Canada – 1977
– Induction into International Swimming Hall of Fame – 1993