When you ask the veteran U.S. Olympic coach Jon Urbanchek about his career as a swim coach you may not be surprised by his reply. "I never worked a day in my life, but I had a damn good hobby and I am getting paid for it."
Jon Urbanchek, who led swimmers to Olympic glory, passed away peacefully at 87 in Fullerton, Calif., surrounded by his family.
A fixture on a pool deck for more than six decades, Urbanchek made an indelible impression on the athletes he has worked with. He was also one of the most successful swimming coaches in history, with 44 swimmers he coached making it to the Olympic Games, winning 21 medals, 11 of which were gold.
In November of 2017 Urbanchek was honored as the inaugural recipient of the IOC Coaches Lifetime Achievement Award. Presented at the IOC Women and Sport Gala in Lausanne, Switzerland the award recognizes outstanding achievements and contributions to Olympians’ lives and the Olympic Movement. To date, Urbanchek is the only swimming coach to receive this honour.
From the Barcelona 1992 Olympics to London 2012, Urbanchek was a member of the U.S. Olympic Team coaching staff for six consecutive Games editions.
In June of 2018, he was asked by USA Swimming to be the Technical Advisor to the National team.
Fellow Team USA coach Bob Bowman paid tribute. “Jon Urbanchek is my role model, mentor and dear friend. He is one of best coaches and people this sport has ever seen,”
Bowman was the U.S. men’s head coach for the 2016 Olympic Games and succeeded Urbanchek as the men's swim coach at the University of Michigan where the latter won 13 Big Ten Conference titles and an NCAA national championship.
“Jon’s kindness and humour, paired with unmatched technical and scientific knowledge has helped a generation of swimmers and coaches advance our sport," Bowman added.
A Hungarian native, Urbanchek came to the United States to swim for the University of Michigan where he was a member of the 1959 and 1961 NCAA Championship teams. In 1961, he placed second nationally in the mile (1609 metres).
The 1959 NCAA Champions, according to Swimming World magazine are still regarded as the most dominant college swim team in history.
"For overall strength as well as balance in all the strokes, distances and diving, no team in history has ever dominated the men’s NCAA Division I Swimming and Diving Championships like the University of Michigan Wolverines," wrote Yale University coach Bob Kiphuth. "“They were the finest college swimming team ever assembled."
He has been on the Olympic pool deck in some capacity since 1976 after receiving an invitation by U.S. Olympic head coach Doc Counsilman to come to Montreal to to watch his first Olympian Rod Strachan win the Olympic Gold medal in the 400m individual medley.
In the following years Urbanchek was the primary coach of U.S. Olympic swimmers Mike Barrowman (1992), Tom Dolan (1992 and 1996), Dan Ketchum (2004), Brent Lang (1998), Tom Malchow (1996 and 2000), Eric Namesnik (1992 and 1996), Chris Thompson (2000), Peter Vanderkaay (2004) and several international stars including Marcel Wouda (2000 - NED) and Gustavo Borges (1992 and 2000 - BRA). "Urbs" as he was known by the swimmers has worked with many other legends, including Michael Phelps and Katie Ledecky.
"I have had this passion for coaching since day one, as soon as I stepped on a pool deck and regardless of how I might really have been feeling on any given day, I always have a smile on my face." said Urbanchek when he was inducted in the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 2008. The endorsement for his entry into the Hall of Fame reads:
"Wherever he goes, honours follow him. As a coach, his swimmers hold him in high regard and his opponents treat him with respect. History has looked kindly on this man who has spent so many years pacing the pool deck developing and training the world’s best swimmers."