Mike Bottom

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Mike Bottom
Personal information
Nationality  United States
Sport
Sport Swimming
Stroke(s) Butterfly
College team University of Southern California

Mike Bottom is the ninth head coach in the 87-year history of the University of Michigan men’s swimming program and one of the world's most recognized swimming coaches.[1] In 2012 he was named coach of all the University of Michigan's men's and women's swimming, and well as diving programs. His 2013 Men's team won the NCAA Division I Swimming and Diving championship. This was Michigan's 12th NCAA men's championship and its first since 1995. A non-participating 1980 Olympian, due to the 1980 Summer Olympics boycott, he is the younger brother of 1976 Olympic Silver Medalist Joe Bottom.

Previously, he was the assistant swimming coach at University of California, Berkeley, where his teams finished eighth place or better at NCAA championships and second place at the Pac-10 Championships. Prior to his joining legendary coach Nort Thornton at Cal, Mike coached four years at USC with Olympic coach and now USA Swimming Team Head Coach & General Manager, Mark Schubert. In Mike's final season at USC, with the help of a strong women's sprint core, USC won their only Women's NCAA Championship to date. Bottom also held a coaching stint at Auburn from 1991-94. He created the ultra sprint program, taking two then unheard-of athletes, Bill Pilczuk and Dean Hutchinson, to the NCAA finals. He assisted in the rise of the Auburn men's team that won the 1997 and 1999 NCAA titles.

For eleven summers Bottom has coached an international Sprint Team. In the past three Olympiads, one-half (nine) of the 18 medals awarded in the men's sprint freestyle events (50 m and 100 m) have been won by athletes that he has coached. This past summer Bottom took a group of 13 swimmers to Europe for a training camp and international competition circuit. After winning the European championships Cal's Bartosz Kizierowski was number one in the world, Duje Draganja was a silver and bronze medalist in the same competition. During the summer of 2004 he coached ten swimmers from eight different countries at the Olympic Games in Athens.

In the past two FINA World Championships (2005 Long Course and 2006 Short Course) all the medals won in the 50 freestyle swimmers had been coached by Bottom. Although he is known world wide for coaching sprinters, 12 of the 18 school records at Cal are held by athletes that Bottom personally coached. He has coached an NCAA champion in every stroke.[2]

At the 2004 Olympics in Athens and 2008 Olympics in Beijing, Bottom served as the Croatian Team Olympic Coach.

During the summer of 2002, Bottom traveled to Europe with 14 athletes to establish a training base in Split, Croatia.

Bottom was the assistant coach for the World Team that finished second at the 2001 Goodwill Games in Brisbane, Australia.

At the 2000 NCAA Bottom coached Anthony Ervin to wins in both the 50 and 100-meter freestyle. Then in 2001, Ervin repeated as the NCAA champion in the 100 free, tying the legendary Matt Biondi with a time of 41.80.

At the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, history was made in the premier sprint swimming event the 50 meter freestyle. Two US Athletes, Gary Hall, Jr. and Anthony Ervin finished in a first ever tie for the Gold Medal. Gary and Anthony as well as the 5th place finisher Bart Kizierowski from Poland all swam for Bottom.

Prior to the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, Bottom left the University of California for the head coach position of the Race Club in the Florida Keys. The so-called World Team included athletes such as Nathan Adrian, Gary Hall Jr., Milorad Čavić and George Bovell. Bottom left the Race Club after the Olympics for the head coach of the University of Michigan.

Bottom graduated from USC with a bachelor's degree in psychology and received the Scholar-Athlete Award for the graduating athlete with the highest GPA. He received a master's degree in counseling at Auburn. Bottom, a member of three NCAA Championship teams at USC, was an Olympic team member and was on a world record 4×100 m freestyle relay.

See also

External links

References

  1. ↑ http://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/lane9/news/18261.asp SwimmingWorld
  2. ↑ http://www.calbears.com/sports/m-swim/mtt/bottom_mike00.html Cal Bears Bio
Summer Universiade Champions in Men's 4×100 m Medley Relay
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