A golden summer of success for Sunderland swimming coach
University of Sunderland Honorary Fellow Danny Thompson’s remarkable golden summer drew to a triumphant conclusion thanks to the success of two of his star pupils in the pool in Rio.
Danny watched on as swimmer Josef Craig won bronze in the S8 100 metre freestyle, before Matt Wylie sensationally won gold in the S9 50 metre freestyle two days later.
Matt’s victory saw him become the first British Paralympic medallist in the men’s S9 50m Freestyle since the modern classification system was introduced in 1992.
Matt, 20, from Washington, said: “When I went to the European Championships and won this year it was a massive confidence boost ahead of Rio. It also helped that I didn’t have any pressure because they were my first Paralympic games.”
Both Matt and Josef are members of the City of Sunderland Swimming Club and have trained extensively under Danny’s supervision at the Aquatic Centre pool in the build up to the games.
Danny, from Middlesbrough, commented: “Rio was never on the cards for Matt but the opportunity presented itself and we tried to make the most of it. Matt is fast, phenomenal at holding his breath, and willing to stay in an uncomfortable position in order to do special things.”
Danny’s exceptional coaching was spotted prior to the games, with Team GB selecting him as one of their swimming coaches in Rio, allowing him to watch on in person as his athletes triumphed to medal glory.
For Danny, it was the culmination of nearly a decade´s hard work in Sunderland. Having arrived in the city in 2007, the coach threw himself into teaching the next generation of swimmers across the city. Initially starting out at grassroots level, he soon became an authority within the sport, helping to nurture 10 swimmers to international level from his Sunderland base.
Matt learned how to swim at an early age but lost interest. He only came back to swimming when, as a result of a bone tumour when he was in his early teens, he broke his leg and as part of the rehabilitation had to undergo hydrotherapy. From there he developed a love of swimming again. However his Paralympic gold medal has been years in the making, fitting in hours of training around his time as a pupil at Biddick Academy.
He said: “We make quite a lot of sacrifices. I have only had one night out in my life, but I don’t miss what I have never had. What really appeals to me is standing on the podium rather than having a night out.”
Danny added: “We start influencing our athletes’ lives at a very young age. We need to monitor their rest, diet and recovery. Matt needs to drink four shots of concentrated beetroot juice per day to keep his immune system working.”
But athletes are not the only ones who need to remain committed, their coaches do too and Danny is no exception. He takes the team to Dubai for two weeks over the festive period because those are the dates when athletes are at their most vulnerable, according to medical reports.
“We can’t risk them getting sick in January because they won’t deliver in March,” Danny explained.
As head coach of Sunderland Swimming Club, Danny employs a unique coaching style that sees able-bodied and disabled athletes training side by side, an experience that he believes gives his swimmers an edge over the competition.
What sets him apart is the realisation that each person he works with is individual and unique.
Danny said: “Matt came to me and said ‘Danny I don’t think I’m going to be able to kick’. So I said, ‘well if you can walk you can kick you are just not very good at it at the minute’.
“Since Matt started the programme we worked to find what he could do and, at the same time, we tried to identify a couple of new things.”
Matt added: “I don’t think there are many coaches like Danny. In the build up to Rio he took me eight times to the performance centre in Manchester where they have excellent facilities and could interpret swimming data for us to improve my training. Danny is really committed, invests time in us and, what is more important, believes in us.”
Danny, who prefers to remain in the background, replied: “It’s never about me, it’s about the athletes. I genuinely believe in what I do.
“What I love about my job is seeing someone getting it right and what it does for them. So for me, my best bit of all of that is when I watched Matt running from his medal presentation to his twin sister who was watching in the stand to show off his medal. Emma is a former swimmer so just looking at what it meant to them, that was probably the best bit.”
Now, with his sights firmly set on Tokyo 2020, Matt has become a role model for the younger swimmers in the club and for the City of Sunderland.
“I’m still getting used to some kids calling me a superhero,” he said.
Danny added: “Matt is very clear about who he is. And wants everybody to be clear he is a Paralympian.”
“We are a community based club with over 200 members and have got a responsibility to coach whoever comes through the door but we have also got the responsibility for people to fulfil their potential and to explore and find out about themselves.”
Awarded an Honorary Fellowship from the University of Sunderland earlier this summer, Danny has received numerous accolades for his coaching work. Notably, he was recognised as the Coach of the Year at the North East Sports Awards last year.
When Danny first arrived in Sunderland, he set out his blueprint to nurture local talent and to develop them into elite athletes without moving to another part of the country. The successes of Josef and Matt are testament to his dream being realised.