Bernd Berkhahn, FINA's 2021 Male Open Water Swimming Coach of the Year

Bernd Berkhahn, FINA’s 2021 Male Open Water Swimming Coach of the Year

Steven Munatones 02/16/2022 open water swimming No Comment

As is traditional at the FINA World Aquatics Gala, the coach of the gold medalist of the Olympic 10K Marathon Swim received the Open Water Swimming Coach of the Year Award.

Bernd Berkhahn not only coaches Tokyo Olympic Games marathon swimming champion Florian Wellbrock who was named by FINA as its Best Male Open Water Swimmer in 2021, but also Rob Muffels who qualified for the Olympic 10K Marathon Swim in Tokyo and Sarah Köhler, who won a gold medal in the 5 km team relay at the 2019 FINA World Championships. He coached Germany to a total of 5 podium finishes at the championships.

He was previously honored as the Trainer of the Year by the German Olympic Sports Confederation for coaching at Elmshorn and Magdeburg. “He is the first point of contact for me and my colleagues when we have worries or problems of all kinds,” said Wellbrock.

Bernd Berkhahn has been national coach for the German Swimming Association since 2019 ©Getty Images
Bernd Berkhahn has been national coach for the German Swimming Association since 2019 ©Getty Images

Berkhahn is equally successful in the pool and open water. Wellbrock pulled off a Mellouli Double with a bronze medal in the 1500m freestyle to combine with his gold medal in the 10 km marathon swim.

Olympic 10K Marathon Swim Results:

  1. Gold: Florian Wellbrock (Germany, 23) 1:48:33.70
  2. Silver: Kristóf Rasovszky (Hungary, 24) 1:48:59.00
  3. Bronze: Gregorio Paltrinieri (Italy, 26) 1:49:01.10
  4. Matan Roditi (Israel, 22) 1:49:24.90
  5. Athanasios Kynigakis (Greece, 22) 1:49:29.20
  6. Marc-Antoine Olivier (France, 25) 1:50:23.00
  7. Ferry Weertman (Netherlands, 29) 1:51:30.80
  8. Michael McGlynn (South Africa, 21) 1:51:32.70
  9. Hau-Li Fan (Canada, 23) 1:51:37.00
  10. Jordan Wilimovsky (USA, 27) 1:51:40.20
  11. Rob Muffels (Germany, 26) 1:53:03.30
  12. Kai Graeme Edwards (Australia, 22) 1:53:04.00
  13. Taishin Minamide (Japan, 25) 1:53:07.50
  14. Mario Sanzullo (Italy, 28) 1:53:08.60
  15. David Farinango (Ecuador, 20) 1:53:09.80
  16. Phillip Seidler (Namibia, 23) 1:53:14.10
  17. Daniel Delgadillo (Mexico, 31) 1:53:14.40
  18. Alberto Martinez (Spain, 23) 1:53:16.50
  19. Kirill Abrosimov (Russian Olympic Committee, 29) 1:54:29.30
  20. Ous Mellouli (Tunisia, 37) 1:56:33.30
  21. Vitaliy Khudyakov (Kazakhstan, 26) 1:57:53.70
  22. William Yan Thorley (Hong Kong, 18) 1:58:33.40
  23. Tiago Campos (Portugal, 22) 1:59:42.00
  24.  Matej Kozubek (Czech Republic, 25) 2:01:52.10
  25. DNF Hector Thomas Cheal Pardoe (Great Britain, 20)
  26. DNF David Aubry (France, 24)

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