Bill Furniss announced his retirement as head coach to British Swimming today after overseeing his fourth Olympic Games. Here is a tribute to the man and the success story he played a pivotal role in.

It was February 2013 when Furniss was appointed. Since then, he's been at the helm of teams that have won 19 Olympic medals, including 6 title, and made 34 World Championship podiums, including 17 golden outcomes.

The most recent global gold for Britain, at the Paris Olympics that ended last Sunday, saw James Guy, Tom Dean, Matt Richards and Duncan Scott become the first precise-match swimming quartet in any relay all the way back to 1896 to retain an Olympic title win the pool.

Furniss, 70, landed the head coach role when Britain was in the doldrums in the pool.

A home Games in London saw the national swim squad take a backwards step, with a silver for Michael Jamieson and two bronzes for Rebecca Adlington, double Olympic champion of 2008 and Furniss' personal charge.

That was the follow-up to the Beijing Games of 2008 and a part of Bill Sweetenham's legacy of 2 gold, 2 silver and 2 bronzes for third on the medals table behind the big two, the USA and Australia.

Our tribute trawls back through the years, with highlights from his soaring campaigns with Adlington, what they said, how Patrick Miley, father of British international Hannah Miley, and his Aquapacer, played a part in a golden double in Beijing; and what Furniss did to get Britain out of the swim doldrums and back on the big podium once more, in record numbers. - Just register to read.