Britain, in preparation for London 2012 and beyond, has announced another head coach for one of its Intensive Training Centres: Ben Titley steps up to the plate at Loughborough University. He will be assisted by Kevin Renshaw, who becomes senior coach at the uni centre.
The ITCs and accompanying coach development programme were the brainchild of Australian coach Bill Sweetenham.
"I think the ITCs are an excellent concept and will provide opportunities for as many swimmers as possible all over the country," said Titley. "They will act as hubs where performance swimming is a priority and people will have the chance to buy into that. The goal going forward for Loughborough is to create one of the best swimming programmes in the world. Working alongside Kevin Renshaw and the university, the aim is to build the strongest possible team environment for performance swimming, in terms of staff, support and athletes. We want as many swimmers winning international medals as possible while nurturing and developing and 2012 prospects."
The man who took over from Sweetenham as Britain Swimming National Performance Director, Michael Scott, welcomed Titley's appointment, saying: "Ben has been involved with the Loughborough programme for a number of years and has also served British Swimming in the role of National Women's Coach in recent times. Ben's programme in Loughborough saw him produce four swimmers for the Beijing Olympic team with the most notable of these being Liam Tancock who in 2008 broke the world record for 50m backstroke.”
