Australia's swimming coach Verhaeren gets 2020 contract extension

Respected Dutchman Jacco Verhaeren was rewarded on Thursday for restoring stability in the Australian swim team with his contract extended until after the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.

Verhaeren, best known for guiding Dutch greats Pieter van den Hoogenband and Inge de Bruijn to Olympic success at the Sydney and Athens Games, was drafted in two years ago to help rescue the team's reputation after a dismal London Olympics.

That Games netted just one swimming gold medal in a campaign marred by ill-discipline, drug use and drunkenness.

Since then the squad has produced solid results, including at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and world short course championships, and the 2015 worlds.

"On making the appointment in 2013 we were all confident that Jacco would add a lot of value to our Australian swim team and our high performance unit, and he has absolutely delivered on these expectations," said Swimming Australia head Mark Anderson.

Having coached at the last five Olympic Games, Verhaeren said the chance to continue working in Australia with some of the world's best athletes and coaches was too good to pass up.

"After working with the team for almost two years now I am excited with the prospects of the future and how I can continue to support the development of coaches, staff, athletes and the high performance system to stay or become world class," he said.
Source: AFP