FOR THE RECORD: Five-time Olympic Coach: 1980 OLYMPIC GAMES: USA Assistant Coach who placed six of his Cincinnati Marlin swimmers on the USA Olympic team, including two world record holders (Mary T. Meagher & Bill Barrett); 1984 OLYMPIC GAMES: Head Coach Australia Institute of Sport, credited with leading a resurgence in Australian swimming after placing six swimmers on the Australian Olympic Team who won half of Australia’s medals, finishing second behind the USA; 2012 OLYMPIC GAMES: British Swimming Head Coach; 1992, 1996 & 2000 OLYMPIC GAMES: USA Swimming National Team Director, USA Men’s and Women’s teams finished first in total medal count in all three Olympiads (1992, 1996, 2000), culminating with 33 medals (14 gold) in the 2000 Olympics, heralded as the “greatest team performance of all time”; 1991, 1994, 1998, & 2001 FINA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS; USA Swimming National Team Director; Selected as the First Ever USA Swimming National Team Director: performed coaching and administrative duties; 1979 PAN AMERICAN GAMES: Assistant Swimming Coach, as Head Coach of Lakeside Swim Club in Louisville, KY(1974-79) was named to the USA coaching staff for the 1979 Pan Am Games where one of his swimmers, Mary T. Meagher, broke her first of several world records; UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA: Head Coach(2012-2019), his men’s team qualified only one swimmer for the NCAA Championships in the first year, then went on to achieve six consecutive top 15 finishes, including four in the top 10; American Swimming Coaches Association “Coach of the Year”(1980); U.S. Olympic Committee Chair’s Coaching Award (2000); One of the “25 Most Influential People in the History of USA Swimming”(2003) ASCA Coaches Hall of Fame(2006);
Whether at the club level, in the collegiate ranks or as the head of a national program, Dennis Pursley has excelled on the coaching front. His influence has been felt directly by the swimmers he developed into some of the best in the world. His impact is also measurable in the coaches he educated while overseeing a country’s operations.
Pursley started to make his mark as the head coach of the Lakeside Swim Club, located in Louisville, Kentucky. While at Lakeside (1974-79), Pursley was selected as a staff member for Team USA at the 1979 Pan American Games. At that edition of the Pan Am Games, Pursley’s protégé, future Hall of Famer Mary T. Meagher, set the first of her several world records by winning the 200-meter butterfly in 2:09.77. Following his success at Lakeside, Pursley took the reins at of the Cincinnati Marlins, which he guided to women’s and combined national championships
during his stint. Although politics led the United States to boycott the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow, Pursley guided six swimmers onto the 1980 Olympic team, including Meagher and Bill Barrett, a world-record holder in the 200 individual medley. From 1981 through 1984, Pursley took on the first international challenge of his career. As the head coach of the Australian Institute of Sport, Pursley played a significant role in Australia’s resurgence. Pursley placed six athletes on the 1984 Australian Olympic squad, as the country finished second to the United States in the medal’s standings with a 12-medal haul.
In 1989, Pursley was named the National Team Director for USA Swimming, a position he held until 2003. During his tenure, the United States topped the medals chart at three consecutive Olympic Games (1992, 1996, 2000). The squad at the 2000 Games in Sydney collected 33 medals, including 14 gold. The overall medal total is the most (along with 2016) since the 1984 Games, when the U.S. won 34 medals.
After leaving the National Team job, Pursley coached the Brophy East Swim Team(Phoenix Swim Club) from 2003-2006 and he returned to international duty from2008-2012 as the head coach of the British National Team. In 2012, Pursley returned to his alma mater, the University of Alabama, and he led the men’s squad to six top 15 finishes in the team standings, including four in the top-10.
Pursley has also spent time coaching in Canada and was named the American Swimming Coaches Association Coach of the Year in 1980 and inducted into the ASCA Hall of Fame in 2006.