Nesty and Wilby Promoted To Associate Head Coaches
Thursday, June 1, 2006 | Men's Swimming & Diving
The University of Florida Swimming & Diving program announced the promotion of long time assistants Anthony Nesty and Martyn Wilby to associate head coaches on Thursday. The duo will assume their new roles immediately as the team prepares for the 2006-07 season.
Nesty, a former swimmer at Florida, was promoted to associate men's head coach following seven years as an assistant. The native of Paramaribo, Surname, was the world's most dominant butterfly swimmer during the late 1980s and into the early 90s. He made a big impact on the international swimming scene when he won the gold medal in the 100-meter butterfly at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, Korea and later collected a World Championship in the same event in 1991 and completed his international career with a bronze medal in the same event at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. He also returned home to help coach the Suriname National Swim team at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece.
During his four-year collegiate career at Florida, Nesty set a school record by winning five NCAA titles, which was surpassed by Ryan Lochte in March. Nesty was a three-time winner in the 100 fly (1990-92), winner of the 200 fly in 1990 and a member of the championship 400 medley relay team in 1991.
Wilby, was promoted to associate women's head coach following eight seasons as an assistant coach. The native of Darlington, England, completed a four-year collegiate career at the University of Kentucky and was a member of the British National Team from 1982-86. He began his coaching career in the United States at the Lakeside Hawks Swim Club in Louisville, Ky., before joining current UF head coach Gregg Troy at the Bolles School in Jacksonville, Fla. From 1992-98 the duo won numerous FHSAA titles at The Bolles School and in 1994 Wilby was named the Florida Age Group Coach of the Year. In 1997, Wilby coached the Malaysian National Team to its best-ever finish at the Southeast Asian Games and was the head coach for Barbados at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia.
“We're fortunate to have so many outstanding people with us on staff,” Troy said. “This will provide consistency in our operations and continued longevity with both of them being here at Florida. With the number of elite level athletes, this will allow me to distribute the administrative responsibilities so that all of our coaches can increase their time working with the athletes.”
The Florida swimming & diving program has been a powerhouse on the collegiate and international scene for nearly three decades. Both the men's and women's programs have combined to win three NCAA Championships, 49 Southeastern Conference Championships and produced 23 Olympic gold medalist since 1968.
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