Lisa Bates, the Chelsea & Westminster mentor, has lifted the BSCA Coach of the Year Award 2025, in recognition of her role in coaching a sprinter to the only medal that Great Britain claimed in solo events at the Singapore 2025 World Championships.

Olympic champions in 2020ne and 2024, the Great Britain men's 4x200m free quartet claimed gold with yet another show of force:

M4x200m Free: Richards, Guy, McMillan & Scott Extend Great Britain’s Golden Era

“No matter what way we swim it, they’re trying to get at us, America has an eye on us, and we’ve got a big target on our backs now” - Duncan Scott, World champ. ion again, with Matt Richards, James Guy, Jack McMillan & heats men Tom Dean and Evan Jones

State Of Swimming +Craig Lord

Bates guided Britain's only solo medallist at Singapore 2025 World titles this year.

The citation for Lisa Bates notes the great work of years she has put in to building swimming programs in London, through the performance program based at the capital; city's Olympic pool and now at the Chelsea & Westminster SC:

Congratulations to Lisa Bates who is awarded the BSCA Coach of the Year Award 2025. Lisa was coach to the top individual performance by a GB swimmer at the 2025 World Aquatics Championships in Singapore, doing this in a Club programme in central London.

Lisa is an experienced programme leader with exposure on GB International Teams, most recently at the Paris Olympic Games 2024 & World Champs in Singapore this year. She has coached a variety of International medalists and has a proven track record with the development of Age Group swimmers to senior level (Siobhan Marie O’Connor, Aimee Willmott, Sophie Taylor).

Lisa held a variety of high profile coaching jobs before joining CWSC, including Performance Programme Head Coach at the London Aquatic Centre, Director of Swimming at Middlesbrough ASC and University of Bath Head Age Group/Youth Coach.

Throughout this time Lisa has been a consistent part of the Team GB coaching set up & this award, going to someone in a club environment, is recognition that what you do is more important than where you do it.

Well done Lisa another stalwart of women coaching in GB!

The BSCA awards week ...

... comes to a close with honours for the following coaches, listed here, with a few more details in the Vortex below and in the links in the list below:

Dave McNulty, Aquatics GB Bath NPC, BSCA Lifetime Achievement Award

Peer Plaudits For Dave McNulty As Coach Lifts the BSCA Lifetime Achievement Award

In tribute to Coach McNulty, a few fine memories in which we turn the spotlight on the soaring Olympic season of Tokyo 2020ne on a day when the Bath head coach is honoured with the British Swimming Coaches Association Lifetime Achievement Award

State Of Swimming +Craig Lord

Dr. Mike Peyrebrune, University of Loughborough, BSCA Life Membership

How Peyrebrune’s Prowess Has Profited Those Pursuing Pioneering Performance

What has Dan Wiffen’s victory at Paris 2024 got in common with Becky Adlington’s golden double at Beijing 2008 & the roots of several other big results in the intervening years? Dr. Mike Peyrebrune is a part of the answer in a sea of hidden excellence. As he’s honoured by the BSCA, we dive in

State Of Swimming +Craig Lord

Lisa Bates, Chelsea & Westminster SC, the BSCA Coach of the Year Award 2025

Patrick Miley, University of Aberdeen Performance Programme, the BSCA Para Coach Of Year

Excellence Awards 2025:

Ryan Livingstone - Aquatics GB Manchester NPC
Dave McNulty - Aquatics GB Bath NPC
Laura Bowie - Aberdeen Dolphins SC
Keiron Piper - Millfield School
Nathan Jegou - Tigers of Jersey SC

Commentary: the BSCA does not name the sprinter Lisa Bates coached, through no fault of her own - and neither will we on this day, given circumstances that stretch to what can be described as a woeful lack of respect for all those who have guided that swimmer down the decades, let alone the people who have funded his way an d those who adhere to the principles of clean sport.

The British sprinter, formerly a competitor under clean-sport rules claimed silver at Singapore 2025 in a repeat of the Paris 2024 Olympic top 2 behind Australian Cam McEvoy.

Sadly, the swimmer previously funded by the British public through the national lottery opted to retire on a sour note, has embraced a business model that not only encourages doping but is also threatening to torch the system that helps fund swimming and its development around the world, the system that provides millions of dollars in prize money for elite athletes every year.

The British sprinter's new bosses are suing World Aquatics and other organisations for $800m because they want access to the pool of talent developed and funded under the anti-doping model that, while not always successful and less than perfect, is intended to maintain fair and safe play in the interests of athletes, including the next wave of young testers, and the next and the next.

If the swimmer wants to make amends for his decision to chase the money at a cost to clean sport and the sport of swimming, he could ask his bosses to withdraw their legal action and get on with their event without attempting to destroy or make claim on the assets of others working under wholly different conditions and with wholly different aims in mind.

He might take time to read this, and consider the lack of wisdom and insult inherent in his choices:

FORUM: How To Heal The Harm Of East Germany’s Doping Heist

Part 4 of 4 - At a time when the Enhanced Games is delighted that the Olympic Movement and international swimming has a history booked overflowing with doping results, it’s time to get the clean up done. Here’s how to approach it…

State Of Swimming +Craig Lord

And this, too:

Enhanced Games Responds To World Aquatics Ban - Our Analysis

Commentary: Much talk of ‘real’ competition, ‘real’ money, and ‘real’ momentum from a project that might be said to have embraced the unreal

State Of Swimming +Craig Lord

Wang & Chen Top Day 5 Billboard At Chinese National Games

Wang Shun and Chen Lunging delivered the speediest efforts on day 5 at the Chinese National; Games in Shenzhen, Wang on 1:56.20 for gold in the 200IM, and Chen on 2:05.45 in the 200m butterfly.

Olympic champion Pan Zhanle, who clocked an astonishing 46.40 World record for Paris 2024 gold in the 100m free, took the blue ribband title in Shenzhen in 48.01.

Pandemonium In The Sprint Ranks: Dissecting An Inscrutable 46.40 - Part 1

In the tussle between those who roar out and hold on and those who hold fire and then spark when hunting down those who roar out, there had never been a swimmer capable of racing to the turn inside 22.5 and returning inside 24.5. There is one now - and how!

State Of Swimming +Craig Lord

Pandemonium In The Sprint Ranks: Dissecting An Inscrutable 46.40 - Part 2

The timewarp of the Paris 2024 100m freestyle: almost 100 years passed before we witnessed victory by more than a second; and almost 50 years passed before we witnessed a World 100m free record fall by 0.4 or more in an Olympic final - or at all

State Of Swimming +Craig Lord

Day 5 Finals in Shenzhen - the Podiums

Men's 200 IM final
Wang Shun 1:56.20
Tao Guannan 1:59.86
Chen Nuo 2:00.34

Women's 200 fly final
Chen Lunying 2:05.45
Yu Zidi 2:06.57
Zhang Yufei 2:07.90

Men's 100 free final
Pan Zhanle 48.01
Liu Wudi 48.25
3= Wang Haoyu and Zhao Jiayue 48.49

Women's 50 back
Wan Letian 27.38
Wang Xue'er 27.50
Chen Jie 27.76

Women's 4x200m free - China Gold.
Top splits:
Yu Zidi, 13, 1:57.98; Yu Yiting 1:56.47; Li Bingjie 1:54.29

Semi-finals, top qualifiers

Women's 200 breast
Zhu Leiju 2:25.96
Tang Qianting 2:26.36
Lyu Qinyao 2:26.93

Women's 100 free
Siobhan Haughey 53.46
Yang Wenwen 54.23
Yang Junxuan 54.61

Men's 200 back
Wang Yutian 1:59.52
Xu Jiayu 1:59.91
Huang Zichun 2:00.31

Men's 200 breast
Qin Haiyang 2:10.80
Dong Zhihao 2:12.34
Wang Junteng 2:12.66

Also in the Vortex:

• Patrick Miley Honoured With BSCA Para Coach Of Year Award
• Siobhan Haughey Halts China National-Team Gold Rush With 1:54.8 200 Free Victory
• BSCA Honours Coaches Dave McNulty, Ryan Livingstone & Dr. Mike Peyrebrune - Each A Contributor To Britain's 4x200 Bonanza
• Xu Jiayu, 30, adds another National Games Crown Yo His Vault
• When Yu, 13, Took Down Asian 200IM Mark Of 2012 Olympic Champion Ye (16) After 13 Years
• Coaches McNulty, Bowie and Jegou Honoured For Excellence On Day 2 Of BSCA Awards Week
• Coaches Piper & Thompson Honoured By BSCA As Awards Week Gets Underway
• Zhang Zhanshuo Sets WJR 3:42.82 In 400 Free Chinese National Games Get Underway in Shenzhen
• Filip Nowacki To Make Senior GB Debut Among 17 selected For Europe S/C Champs in Poland
• Vanotterdijk, Gaspard & Verreth Set Belgian S/C Records
• Summer McIntosh Joins Team Arena
• Komoróczy Breaks Hosszu’s Hungarian S/C 'Fly Dash Mark
• Carol ‘Penny’ Taylor Passes Away At 96
• Dávid Betlehem 1st To Break 14:30 s/c 1500 free this season
• U.S. Pro Swim Format Tweaked for 2026 Season
• Walshe, Wiffen & NíRiain Lift Athlete Of Year Honours At Swim Ireland Awards - & Sweeney Is Top Coach

For Paid Subscribers:

FORUM: How To Heal The Harm Of East Germany’s Doping Heist

Part 4 of 4 - At a time when the Enhanced Games is delighted that the Olympic Movement and international swimming has a history booked overflowing with doping results, it’s time to get the clean up done. Here’s how to approach it…

State Of Swimming +Craig Lord