Kyle Chalmers Coach Peter Bishop The Shock Appointment As The New Head Coach Of Dutch National Team
In a shock move, celebrated Australian coach Peter Bishop – the man behind the career of Australia’s Olympic freestyle sprint king Kyle Chalmers – has been appointed as the new head coach of the Dutch National Team.
An appointment that comes eight months after he was stood down from any involvement in the Paris Games.
Swimming Australia has confirmed that Bishop will leave his role at the South Australian Sports Institute to take up the head coaching role of the Royal Dutch Swimming Federation (The National Swim Team).
In March, Bishop had been stood down from his position with the South Australian Sports Institute (SASI) following an investigation, which forced Chalmers to link with Queensland-based coach Ashley Delaney – 140 days out from the Paris Games.
Kyle Chalmers: Photo Courtesy: Giorgio Scala / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto
Chalmers, who won 100m freestyle gold under Bishop in Rio in 2016 and silver in 2021 in Tokyo, went on to win his third medal, his second silver in Paris, with Delaney in his corner.
Swimming Australia revoked Bishop’s coaching accreditation until the end of the Olympic cycle, after they were “informed of (the) investigation and findings by the South Australia Office for Recreation, Sport and Racing into South Australian Sports Institute (SASI) high-performance swimming program” meaning Bishop could not coach at the Paris Olympics, and he was moved to a different role within the SASI.
At the time Swimming Australia said it respected the process and findings and had revoked Bishop’s coaching accreditation until the end of the Olympic cycle, “upon which he is eligible to re-apply.”
But the man behind the success of the Marion SwimTeam who has a reputation for building a team, will now leave Australia to take over the reins of a Dutch team following their disappointing Games in Paris which saw them win just two bronze medals to Tes Schouten andCaspar Corbeau – in the women’s and men’s 200m breaststroke respectively.
In today’s Swimming Australia statement, Bishop said: “It’s been a privilege to make a contribution to the Dolphins’ success and I look forward to a new challenge.”
Australian Olympic head coach Rohan Taylor praised Bishop, saying he had played a significant role in Australian swimming, in particular Chalmers claiming three individual medals across three Olympics and also the success of Australia’s greatest Paralympic swimmer, Matt Cowdrey – who won 23 Paralympic medals from three Games including 13 gold.
“His contribution across Olympic and Paralympic Games is significant and greatly valued. Kyle (Chalmers) and Matt (Cowdrey) are legends of our sport and Bish (Bishop) has been integral to shaping their careers,” Taylor said.
“We wish Bish all the best as he takes the next step into a head coaching role.”
Bishop’s new role is one made famous by Jacco Verhaeren between Sydney 2000 and London 2012 – and who Bishop worked alongside when the celebrated Dutchman was the Australian Head Coach in Rio.
It is unsure what the next steps will be for Chalmers, who returned home to South Australia post Paris, announcing his engagement to Norwegian swimmer Ingeborg Løyning and in a recent interview in the Adelaide Advertiser, Chalmers revealed the couple were planning their weddings (a formal event in Norway and “more of a party” in his hometown of Port Lincoln, on South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula).
But Chalmers has always been full of praise for Bishop who had been by his side through thick and thin.
“My coach is my rock that I’ve had for 12 years…he’s a best friend, a father figure, a mentor – someone that I spend 30 to 40 hours a week with, I travel the world with, so losing him so close to the competition we’d worked so hard for the last 12 years essentially, was very challenging,” Chalmers told The Advertiser.
“And I don’t think anyone could really understand how hard that is until you actually have to go through it yourself.”
Chalmers had revealed he desperately wants to make LA in 2028 “but I’m not going to be the best 100 freestyler in Australia forever, it’s just whether my body holds up until then.
“My mind definitely wants to continue to go even through to Brisbane 2032, it would be amazing to go to a home Olympics, but I’m definitely a realist in the fact that I know there’s younger guys coming through in the sport who are going to beat me one day and I know that my body is going to give out inevitably at some point also,” said Chalmers.
Next year’s World Championships in Singapore will mark his 10th year on the Australian Dolphins Swim Team and it’s where he won seven medals – including gold in the 50 and 100m freestyle at the 2015 World Junior Championships.
And a likely reunion with “his rock” Peter Bishop who will now be wearing the Dutch tracksuit.
