Anthony Nesty

Last updated

Anthony Nesty
Personal information
Full nameAnthony Conrad Nesty
National teamSuriname
Born (1967-11-25) November 25, 1967 (age 55)
Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
Height5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight172 lb (78 kg)
Sport
Sport Swimming
Strokes Butterfly
College team University of Florida (U.S.)
B.A. 1994
Medal record
Men's swimming
Representing Flag of Suriname.svg  Suriname
Olympic Games
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1988 Seoul 100 m butterfly
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 1992 Barcelona 100 m butterfly
World Championships (LC)
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1991 Perth 100 m butterfly
Pan Pacific Championships
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1989 Tokyo 100 m butterfly
Pan American Games
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1987 Indianapolis 100 m butterfly
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1991 Havana 100 m butterfly
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 1991 Havana 200 m butterfly
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 1987 Indianapolis 200 m butterfly
Goodwill Games
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1990 Seattle 100 m butterfly
Biographical details
Alma materUniversity of Florida
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1996-1998Swim Florida Swim Club
1998-1999 U of Florida
Asst. Men's Coach
2004Suriname National Swim Team
2006-present U of Florida
2008Suriname Olympic Team
2011U.S. National Team
2011 World Univ. Games
2021U.S. Olympic Men's Team
Asst. Coach
2024U.S. Olympic Men's Team
Named Head Coach in '23
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
8 SEC Titles

Anthony Conrad Nesty (born November 25, 1967) is a former competition swimmer from Suriname who was an Olympic gold medallist in the 100-metre butterfly event in 1988. He is currently the head coach of the Florida Gators men's and women's swim team at the University of Florida, where he attended school. [1]

Contents

In Sept. 2023, Nesty was named to be the Head Coach for the US Men's Swimming team at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. [2]

Early years

Anthony Nesty was born in Port of Spain in 1967, [3] the youngest of five children in his family. Nesty's family migrated to Suriname when he was seven months old, and he started swimming at the age of 5. Nesty trained and competed in Suriname and the Caribbean through the beginning of his teenage years. He represented Suriname along with his sister, Pauline, at the 1983 Pan American Games. [4] After placing twenty-first in the 100-metre butterfly at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles at just 16 years old, Nesty enrolled in The Bolles School in Jacksonville, Florida, a prep school with an athletic program known for training elite, world-class swimmers. While training under Bolles coach Gregg Troy, Nesty broke the prep school 100-yard butterfly record held by Pablo Morales. [5] Breaking Morales's record was the beginning of prominent successes for Nesty. He graduated from the Bolles School in 1987. [6]

International swimming career

Nesty returned to international competition at the 1987 Pan American Games in Indianapolis, Indiana, winning a gold medal in the 100-metre butterfly and a bronze medal in the 200-metre butterfly. [5]

At the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, Korea, Nesty edged American favorite Matt Biondi by one one-hundredth of a second to win the 100-metre butterfly; he finished the event in 53.00 seconds and Biondi in 53.01. [3] Nesty is the only Olympic medal winner from Suriname [7] and after winning his Olympic gold medal, he was unbeaten in the 100-metre butterfly event for three years. Nesty was the first black male athlete and only the second black athlete to win an individual Olympic medal in swimming following Enith Brigitha at the 1976 Summer Olympics, and only the second South American swimmer to win an Olympic gold medal after Alberto Zorrilla in the 1928 Summer Olympics.

Nesty's victory in Seoul was a momentous social and political event for Afro-Caribbeans. The Suriname government commemorated his gold-medal performance on a stamp and on gold and silver coins. A 25-guilders bank note portraying an illustration of a butterfly swimmer was printed in his honor. Surinam Airways named one of its planes after Nesty (this plane was destroyed in an accident while operating as Surinam Airways Flight 764), [8] and the indoor stadium in Paramaribo was renamed for him.

Nesty won gold medals in the 100-metre butterfly at the Goodwill Games in 1990 and the FINA World Aquatics Championships in 1991. At the 1991 Pan American Games in Havana, Cuba, he again won a gold medal in 100-metre butterfly and a silver in the 200-metre butterfly. [5] He attempted to defend his 1988 Olympic gold medal in the 100-metre butterfly at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, but finished with a third-place bronze. [3] At the 2008 Summer Olympics Parade of Nations of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, while long retired from competition as an athlete himself, Nesty was invited to be Suriname's flag bearer at the opening ceremony.

Nesty was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame (ISHOF) as an "Honor Swimmer" in 1998, [5] and the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great" in 2002. [9] [10]

College swimming career

After winning his gold medal in Seoul, Nesty accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where he enjoyed a successful swimming career with the Florida Gators swimming and diving team under coach Randy Reese and coach Skip Foster from 1989 to 1992. During his four years of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) competition, he won three consecutive NCAA individual championships in the 100-yard butterfly (1990, 1991, 1992), one in the 200-yard butterfly (1990), and one as a member of the team's 400-yard medley relay team (1991), and received sixteen All-American honors. Nesty also won eleven Southeastern Conference (SEC) titles—five in individual races and six as a member of Gators relay teams. [11]

Nesty graduated from the University of Florida with his bachelor's degree in 1994. [12]

Coaching career

In the mid 1990s, Nesty returned to the Bolles School as a member of the swim coaching staff, while also serving as head coach at Nease High School in Jacksonville. [10]

Nesty was named the Assistant Men's Coach for University of Florida in 1998 and associate head coach for the Florida Gators men's swimming team in 2006. [12] On April 13, 2021, the university announced that Nesty would henceforth also be head coach of the Florida Gators women's swimming team. [13] In November 2021, Caeleb Dressel would move under Nesty's college group at the University of Florida from his former long-time coach Gregg Troy. Notable swimmers currently under Nesty's direction include Katie Ledecky, Bobby Finke, and Kieran Smith. [14]

In June 2021, Nesty was named Assistant Coach to the U.S. Men's Olympic Swim Team. [15] In February 2022, he was named Head Coach of the U.S. Men's Swim Team for the 2022 FINA World Championships in Budapest. [16]

In September of 2023, Nesty was named to be the Head Coach for the US Men's team at the 2024 Summer Olympics to be held in Paris, France, with Todd DeSorbo to be Women's Head Coach. [2]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Heath (swimmer)</span> American swimmer

Michael Steward Heath is an American former competition swimmer who specialized in freestyle events. He is a three-time Olympic gold medalist, and a former world record-holder in two relay swimming events. A native of Texas, he won two national collegiate championship competing for the University of Florida. During his elite swimming career, Heath won ten medals in major international championships, including seven golds, two silvers and a bronze, spanning the Olympic Games, FINA World Championships, and Pan Pacific Championships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tracy Caulkins</span> American swimmer

Tracy Anne Stockwell, OAM,, née Tracy Anne Caulkins, is an American former competition swimmer, three-time Olympic gold medalist, five-time world champion, and former world record-holder in three events.

The Bolles School is an American private college preparatory day and boarding school in Jacksonville, Florida. It has a lower school, a middle school, and a high school, spread across four campuses around the Jacksonville area, and enrolls about 1,800 students a year. The school was founded in 1933 as an all-boys military academy. It dropped its military focus in 1962 and became coeducational in 1971. Its athletics programs have been recognized as some of the best in the Florida High School Athletic Association by Sports Illustrated magazine.

David López-Zubero Purcell, also known as David Zubero, is a former competitive swimmer who represented Spain at three Summer Olympics and won an Olympic bronze medal in 1980. Zubero was born in the United States, swam in international competition for Spain, and holds dual Spanish-American citizenship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fred Tyler</span> American swimmer and coach

Frederick Daniel Tyler is an American competitive swimmer and aquatics coach, winner of several high school and college championships and a gold medal in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay at the 1972 Summer Olympics and author.

Stephen Clarke is a Canadian former competition swimmer and Olympic bronze medallist.

Martín López-Zubero Purcell, also known as Martin Zubero, is a former competition swimmer and Olympic gold medalist. López-Zubero was born in the United States, swam in international competition for Spain, and holds dual Spanish-American citizenship.

Whitney Lynn Hedgepeth is an American former competition swimmer who won a gold and two silver medals at the 1996 Summer Olympics.

Matthew J. Cetlinski is an American former competition swimmer, Olympic gold medalist, and former world record-holder.

David Erwin Larson is an American former competition swimmer who is an Olympic gold medalist and former world record-holder. Larson is a Georgia native who became an All-American college swimmer for the University of Florida. He was known for his success as a member of American relay teams in international competition at the Pan American Games and the Olympics – and for setting two world records in the 4×200-meter relay event on the same day at the 1984 Olympics.

William M. Sawchuk is a Canadian former swimmer, competing in the butterfly, freestyle and medley events during the 1970s and early 1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Suriname at the 2008 Summer Olympics</span> Sporting event delegation

Suriname sent a delegation of four people to compete at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China: two athletes (Jurgen Themen and Kirsten Nieuwendam and two swimmers who participated in four distinct events. The appearance of Suriname at Beijing marked its tenth Olympic appearance, which included every Olympic games since the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City and excluded the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. Its four athletes did not advance past the first round in each of their events. The Surinamese flag bearer in Beijing was not an athlete, but Anthony Nesty, the only medalist in Surinamese history and the nation's Olympic swimming coach.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Omar Pinzón</span> Colombian swimmer

Omar Andrés Pinzón García is a competitive swimmer who represented Colombia at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece and 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China. Pinzón attended college in the United States, where he swam for the University of Florida.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gabriel Mangabeira</span> Brazilian swimmer

Gabriel Semain Vasconcellos Mangabeira is a Brazilian competition swimmer who qualified for the men's 100-metre butterfly at both the 2004 Summer Olympics and the 2008 Summer Olympics. Mangabeira also won a silver medal in the 100-metre butterfly at the 2007 Pan American Games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Florida Gators swimming and diving</span>

The Florida Gators swimming and diving program represents the University of Florida in the aquatics sports of swimming and diving. The program includes separate men's and women's teams, both of which compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The Gators host their home meets in the O'Connell Center Natatorium on the university's Gainesville, Florida campus, and are currently led by head swimming coach Anthony Nesty and diving coach Bryan Gillooly. Since Florida's swim and dive program was established in 1930, the men's team has won forty SEC team championships and two NCAA national championships. Since the NCAA and the SEC began sanctioning women's swimming in 1981, the Lady Gators have won seventeen SEC team championships and three national championships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Randy Reese</span>

Randy Reese is an American college and Olympic swimming coach. Reese is best known for coaching the Florida Gators swimming and diving teams of the University of Florida to four national championships, and coaching the winners of eighteen Olympic gold, eight silver and eight bronze medals. Reese is a member of the International Swimming Hall of Fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gregg Troy</span> American Olympic swimming coach

Gregg Troy is an American professional and Olympic swimming coach. As of April 2021, he is the head coach for the Cali Condors, which is part of the International Swimming League. Until 2018, he was the head coach of the Florida Gators swimming and diving teams of the University of Florida. Previously, Troy served as an assistant coach for the U.S. Olympic men's swim team in 1996 and 2008, and he was the head coach of the 2012 U.S. Olympic men's swim team that competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

Giovanni Rodolfo Linscheer was a Surinamese swimmer who competed at the 1992 Summer Olympics and 1996 Summer Olympics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Finke</span> American swimmer (born 1999)

Robert FinkeOLY is an American professional swimmer. He won two gold medals for the United States in the 2020 Summer Olympics: the men's 800-meter and 1500-meter freestyle swims. Finke is known to his friends by the nickname, Bobby. He swam for the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida from 2018-2022 under Coach Anthony Nesty. He currently swims as a part of the pro group at UF. Before swimming in college, Bobby swam for Coach Fred Lewis on the Saint Petersburg Aquatics club team, located in Saint Petersburg, Florida.

Todd DeSorbo has been the head coach of the Virginia Cavaliers Swim team at the University of Virginia, since assuming the position in 2017. He served as an Assistant Coach for the 2021 US Tokyo Summer Olympics Women's Swim Team, and in September 2023 was named to be the Head Coach for the U.S. Women's Swim team at the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

References

  1. ↑ "Anthony Nesty - Men's Swimming & Diving Coach". floridagators.com. University of Florida. Retrieved April 25, 2019.
  2. 1 2 "Todd DeSorbo Named 2024 US Olympic Women's Swimming Team Head Coach". September 21, 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Anthony Nesty". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 17, 2020. Retrieved June 4, 2011.
  4. ↑ Stutgard, Ricky W. (1990) De eerste Surinaamse sportencyclopedie (1893–1988). Alberga, Paramaribo. ISBN   9991494936. p. 137
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Anthony Nesty (SUR)". ISHOF.org. International Swimming Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on November 24, 2010. Retrieved July 23, 2011.
  6. ↑ "Bolles Olympic Medalists". The Bolles School, Athletics. Archived from the original on July 7, 2015. Retrieved March 6, 2015.
  7. ↑ "Anthony Conrad Nesty". Olympics.com. Retrieved August 18, 2021.
  8. ↑ "ASN Aircraft accident McDonnell Douglas DC-8-62 N1809E Paramaribo-Zanderij International Airport (PBM)". aviation-safety.net.
  9. ↑ "Gator Greats". gatorfclub.org. F Club, Hall of Fame. Retrieved December 15, 2014.
  10. 1 2 "Nine Former Gators Named to UF Hall of Fame". GatorZone.com. April 4, 2002. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved July 21, 2011.
  11. ↑ "Gator History & Records" (PDF). UF Swimming & Diving 2009–2010 Media Guide. University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida. 2009. pp. 88–89, 90, 92–93, 96–97, 99, 102–105, 107, 117. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 11, 2011. Retrieved June 4, 2011.
  12. 1 2 "Anthony Nesty". GatorZone.com, Swimming & Diving Coaches. Archived from the original on April 2, 2012. Retrieved June 4, 2011.
  13. ↑ Ross, Andy (April 13, 2021). "Anthony Nesty to Coach Florida Women After Jeff Poppell's Departure". SwimmingWorldMagazine.com.
  14. ↑ "Caeleb Dressel Announces Move To Train Under Anthony Nesty At Florida". SwimSwam. November 16, 2021. Retrieved May 1, 2022.
  15. ↑ Underwood, Bridgette (June 21, 2021). "Anthony Nesty named assistant coach to the men's US Olympic swim tesportsam". FloridaGators.com.
  16. ↑ Shay, Ashleigh (February 14, 2022). "Nesty and DeSorbo Named U.S. Coaches for 2022 FINA World Championships". SwimmingWorldMagazine.com.
Olympic Games
Preceded by Flagbearer for Flag of Suriname.svg  Suriname
Seoul 1988 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Flagbearer for Flag of Suriname.svg  Suriname
Beijing 2008 		Succeeded by
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.