Swimming Canada wishes Martyn Wilby well in his decision to move on from the position of Senior Coach, Olympic Program.

Wilby, who took on the role in January 2017, said he has considered many factors in coming to his decision, and came to the difficult conclusion that it was time to move on.

“Since the Commonwealth Games I have given much thought and contemplation regarding my role within Swimming Canada,” said Wilby. “I have come to the conclusion that it is time to move on from my role as Senior Coach, Olympic Program. I would like to thank High Performance Director and National Coach John Atkinson, CEO Ahmed El-Awadi and all in swimminag across Canada for trusting me to lead the national team over the past five years. I wish you all much success in the future.”

Wilby, previously the longtime associate head coach for the University of Florida Gators, supported Atkinson in the areas of technical leadership, performance standards and high performance coach development across the Olympic program. He held the position of head coach for Canada’s senior national teams over the past five years, and served as Interim Head Coach on deck at the High Performance Centre last season. Canada enjoyed some of its best ever world championships and Olympic Games results during his tenure.

“Martyn has been a great leader, working hard and going above and beyond through instinct or whenever asked to do so,” El-Awadi said. We will miss him and his amazing experience he has brought to Swimming Canada”

“We will miss Martyn greatly, but wish him all the best as he moves forward. His work ethic and class were always a factor in how he conducted himself in performing the role. We are grateful for his input over the last five and a half years, which has seen many things to celebrate for Canadian swimming,” Atkinson added.

Atkinson added that Swimming Canada will look at the technical and programming requirements across the team and systems in the coming weeks.

“We will consider what is required not just to 2024 and Paris, but also onwards to 2028 and the Los Angeles Olympic Games,” he said.