Fernando J. Canales
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| Medal record | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Fernando J. Canales |
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| Men's Swimming | |||
Competitor for  Puerto Rico |
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| Pan American Games | |||
| Silver | 1979 San Juan | 100m Freestyle | |
| Silver | 1983 Caracas | 100m Freestyle | |
| Bronze | 1979 San Juan | 4x100m Medley | |
Fernando J. Canales (born November 2, 1959 and grew up in Bayamon and Guaynabo, Puerto Rico). Fernando is the Assistant Coach for men's swimming at The University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. He is a member of the U.S. Swimming International Relations Committee as well as the United States' technical representative for the Amateur Swimming Union of The Americas (ASUA/UANA).
His father is Francisco Canales Roman, from Toa Baja, Puerto Rico and his mother is Carmen Alvarez Canales, from Mexico City D.F. Fernando has two brothers (Francisco Luis-Harvard '78 & Stanford '82; Harry Noel Michigan '87) and one sister (S. Lee CMU '88 & Grand Valley State '89). Fernando graduated from Colegio San Ignacio de Loyola in 1977 and was honored for civic service and athletic achievements with the symbolic key to the city of Guaynabo, Puerto Rico in 1978.
He graduated in 1982 with a Bachelor of Science in Physiology of Exercise and a Bachelor of Arts in History and English from The University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. After his graduation he worked with legendary Olympic Coaches Jon Urbanchek and Dick Kimball from 1982 to 1987 and helped the Wolverines reclaim the Big Ten Championship Title after a 24 year drought in March of 1986. Fernando was the Head Swimming and Water Polo Coach at the University of California-Santa Cruz from 1990 to 1992 where he also taught classes within the Physical Education Department.
He became a National Swimming Champion at an early age by becoming the top ranked 17 and under, 100 meter freestyler in the USA in 1977 while training under Coach Brad Glenn in Huntsville, Alabama. Canales was ranked 25th in the world that very same year in the 100 Free. His triumphs brought him to The University of Michigan in Ann Arbor from 1977 to 1982. He excelled at the National and International level by winning All America Awards in each of his four years of competition. He earned a total of 13 Big Ten Championship titles. Canales was the only swimmer in Big Ten Conference history to capture the 100 Freestyle title during his four years of competition while training under Head Olympic Coach Gus Stager and 1964 USA Olympian Bill Farley.
Canales was a 100 meter freestyle finalist in the 1978 Berlin FINA World Championships, earning a 5th place. He was the "first" Puerto Rican swimmer to final in the World Championships. He earned five gold medals and one silver medal during the 1978 Central American Championships in Medellín, Colombia. He became the first Puerto Rican to win an individual medal in the Pan American Games by winning silver in the 100 meters free in 1979 (San Juan, Puerto Rico) and repeating that feat in 1983 (Caracas, Venezuela). He also won a bronze medal in the 4 x 100 meters medley relay in 1979.
Fernando became a National Champion in 1986 when he won the 4 x 100 meter free relay alongside 3 other Wolverines, Joe Parker, Greg Varner and Dave Kerska. This was the fastest Club Relay in the World for that year. He won the 100 meter free gold medal during the Soviet Spartakiade National Championships in 1979. He won the 50 meter and 100 meter freestyle events during the Swedish and German World Cup events in 1983 and 1984. He won the Latin Cup in 1978, 1979 and 1981. He won sprint freestyle titles in Italy, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Puerto Rico, The United States, Germany, Sweden, Dominican Republic and Guadalupe.
Canales made three Olympic Teams: Montreal '76, Moscow '80 and Los Angeles '84). He was honored as the Flag bearer for the Puerto Rican Olympic Team during the 1984 Olympic Opening and Closing Ceremonies in Los Angeles. Canales is featured and has his own chapter in the book "Paths to the Olympics - Maize and Blue to Olympic Gold" by Marc Parrish, Colemar press 1997.
He attributes his triumphs to the support of his mother, brothers and sister, the memory of his father, John Daly's tutelage, his teammates, and the wonderful coaches that helped him during his career: Kika, Julia, Mr. Forte, Carlos Sala, Brad Glenn, Gus Stager, Bill Farley, Dick Kimball and Jon Urbanchek. All of these coaches shared one thing in common; they participated in the Olympics or the Pan American Games, thus instilling the Olympic dream and the desire to rise above the rest of the competition from an early age.
Canales was inducted into the Puerto Rico Sports Hall of Fame with the class of 1993 which also included internationally famous sports personalities: Orlando "Peruchin" Cepeda, Carlos "Charlie" Passarell, Raymond Dalmau, Amado Morales and Osvaldo Gil.
Fernando is married to Mona Nyheim-Canales, a Norwegian National Swimming Champion and the Senior Coach for Club Wolverine in Ann Arbor. They have 2 sons, Francisco Enrique Canales and Thor Bjorn Canales. Fernando coached in the Great State of Texas from 1992 to 2007. He speaks five languages and is an active volunteer with The American Red Cross Chisolm Chapter in Fort Worth, Texas.
