Ever heard of someone backstroking their way to the top? Well, that’s USA’s swimming star Ryan Murphy for you! After his all-golden escapade in Rio de Janeiro, Murphy’s slip-ups in Tokyo had his backstroke Olympic titles snatched away right in front of his eyes. While he had settled for silver and bronze-colored rewards then, the possibility of regaining the victory baton at Paris now lies open for him to seize. But can he do that? Well, empowered by his two Cs- coaching and champion spirit, no battle seems too arduous for this 6x Olympic medalist.

“I want to win every time I touch the water, whether that’s a Monday morning practice or an Olympic final,” every bit of Murphy’s words reflect a victor’s persona. But what about the coaching? Well, he seems secure on this end too, guided by a seasoned mentor, whose watchful eye has done wonders for Murphy over the years. Who is that? All the details are coming right up.

Meet Ryan Murphy’s head coach, Dave Durden

California star Ryan Murphy’s coaching reigns have been in the hands of Dave Durden, Cal’s head coach, Director of Swimming & Diving, and the 2023 Coach of the Year at the Golden Goggles. Under these positions, the man has been at the helm of the college’s swimming endeavors for the past 17 seasons, producing 38 individual NCAA champions. Internationally, too, his pupils like Nathan Adrian, Josh Prenot, Tom Shields, and others have seen substantial career highs.

More so, in 2021, Durden had an opportune moment. It was to lead Team USA as the Head Coach for the Tokyo Olympics. Fortunately, the stint had ended on a substantial-high for the American swimmers. They bagged 12 medals collectively, while Murphy alone picked up three of them.

Undoubtedly, California’s swimming division has seen multiple highs under Durden’s visionary leadership. In his tenure alone, the Bears have placed hands on six NCAA team championships titles. While for 14 consecutive seasons, they ended up in the top three, nationally. Consequently, the fraternity acknowledged him as the ultimate backend maestro, conferring on him with 7 NCAA Coach of the Year awards and 12 Pac-12 Coach of the Year honors.

For Ryan Murphy especially, Durden’s guidance has steered him into the swimming cream! This is his 11th season with Durden at Cal, which marks a solid and long-term association between the two. Particularly in 2016, Murphy bagged three golds at Rio, in 4x100m medley relay, 200m backstroke, and 100m backstroke. Interestingly, he even etched a world record to his name in the 100m category. The A-lister then returned to a marvelous collegiate season, winning the 2 backstroke NCAA events for the fourth time on the trot!

But there’s more to this coaching wizard. Before joining hands with the Bears, Durden had a brilliant run at a few other colleges in the initial days of his coaching career. Was it equally brilliant, though? Let’s have a look.

The glorious coaching career of Durden

Post 2007, there was no looking back for Durden, to whom Cal was now a home. But for two years before this, the coaching genius was at the University of Maryland, starting 2005-07. Under his guidance, Maryland’s women swimmers finished 5th at the ACC Championships, while the men ended up eighth. However, Sasha Malanina was crowned the ACC Champion in the 400m individual medley. Moreover, she and Krisztina Kovacs also attained All-American Honorable Mentions at the 2006 NCAA Championships.

Further back down the timeline, Durden was associated with the Auburn Tigers, as an assistant coach from 2002 to 05. “We feel that we’ve found an outstanding coach who knows what it takes to establish and lead a winning program,” evidently Auburn leadership was extremely impressed with his work back then. Besides, he played a part in them winning six national team championships, both the men’s and women’s teams combined.

Thus, it is certain that Ryan Murphy is currently under the guidance of a pro. He has been a part of august institutions and knows the sport very well. But, do you think Durden’s strategies can help Murphy claim the backstroke titles at the Paris Olympics?