UGA Swimming and Diving Head Coach and 2008 Team USA Olympic Head Coach for the Women’s Swim Team Jack Bauerle; 2-Time Olympian and UGA alum Nicolas Kintz; and his wife and alum Molly Kintz join 33N83W for a no-holds-barred and candid conversation about all things UGA swimming, past and present.
Coach Bauerle is the man responsible for putting UGA swimming and diving on the international map. Due in large part to him, UGA is one of the most represented universities at the Olympics and other major world swim and dive competitions. Like turning water into wine, he molds his students into scholarly-athletes, record setting collegiate swimmers, and world-class Olympians. Nicolas Kintz is a 2-time Olympian for the French National Team and one of Coach Bauerle’s many former swimmers who helped break records for him and UGA. Nicolas and his wife Molly met at the Washington Street Tavern in Athens, GA in November 2001 following UGA’s defeat over GA Tech. Their college romance turned into marriage, and today they are raising their two young girls to be future Swim Dawgs.
Coach Bauerle has under his belt 45 Top-10 teams, 7 NCAA and 12 SEC crowns with the Lady Bulldogs; SEC Coach of the Year 18 times (16 with the women, two with the men); National Women’s Coach of the Year 7 times; and 1st among active NCAA coaches, 1st all-time in the SEC, and 2nd on the all-time list for number of wins.
He fosters a strong bond with all his current and former swimmers, and with his former teammates and coaches from UGA. In this episode, he takes a walk down memory lane and shares his memories from college, his days as a student-athlete, the moment he decided to become a coach, to the time when he was announced as the 2008 Team USA Olympic Head Coach for the women’s swim team. As an added bonus, he gives us the scoop on how Matt Stafford, former UGA and current Detroit Lions QB, came to know UGA, and who to start following on social media from the current UGA Swimming & Diving Team (because they’re that good and we may see them at the 2020 Olympics)!
Great conversation, loved it!