Lyles takes charge as New Zealand national high performance coach

Swimming New Zealand has hired David Lyles, the head coach of the Shanghai Swimming Team, to be their new National High Performance coach. Lyles was the head coach of the University of Bath swim team from 1997-2005. After that role, China brought him in to lead the Shanghai Swimming Team, which also included duties with the Chinese National Team. Lyles swimmers had been selected for 5 of the 6 last Olympics Games and he has also put swimmers on the Chinese National Team for the 2010 and 2011 World Championships. He also trained two out of the four members of the bronze winning relay team (4x200 m free) at the 2012 Olympics Games.

He is also the coach of Ji Li Ping, and Asian Champion in the women’s 100 breaststroke, as well as Sun Xiao Lei and Zhou Xin, both of whom medaled at the 2011 World Short Course championships in backstroke events.

Lyles is expected to take the job that has been temporarily filled by Coach Bill Sweetenham. Lyles will work with Swimming New Zealand high performance director Luis Villanueva, former head of the Spanish programme. Chief executive of Swimming New Zealand Christian Renford, said for Lyles that: “He brings the highest quality technical skill set for our elite swimmers, and has the record at international level in terms of not only producing finalists and medallists but in developing a world class programme.”

The New Zealand team had a great lead up to the 2012 Olympics, resulting in a big team being named for the Games, but their only swimmer who reached the finals at the Olympics was Lauren Boyle, who was 8th in the 400 free and 4th in the 800 free.

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